Surprise Arrival
by What is Insanity
Summary: "Ne, ne, Kakashi-sensei, who's the kid? Is she a client? Is she a princess we've been tasked with guarding?" It seemed as though he had finally noticed Ran, but Kakashi held up his hand to halt Naruto's questions. Naruto always jumped to the most ridiculous conclusions when it came to mission clients. "Well, Naruto-kun," he paused for moment, "it appears that she's my daughter."
1. Orchids

A/N: So there has been some confusion about Ran's mother's age. She was 18 when she moved to the village and didn't meet Kakashi for several years after that. Putting her in her early 20's when she had Ran. Hope that helps!

* * *

On the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers sits a small farming village only a day's walk or so from the ocean. Due to its location, the little village is majorly isolated from the rest of the world. A small fishing village a day's away being the only one to be in constant contact with them. As such, the village often seems to be untouched by time. All but the oldest homes have running water, but very few homes have the luxury of electricity. The citizens of this village are rather close-nit, to the point where outsiders are not trusted and unwelcome. Shinobi doubly so. Elders still plagued by the memories of their sons and daughters being slaughtered and their houses set ablaze due to wars they had no part in.

Nowadays, since the wars have passed, and the world seems to be at a time of peace, children run barefoot through the dirt streets. Chasing one another in some sort of game only they understand, often dripping wet from playing in the creek that resides in the forest. The young and healthy toll away in the fields, not worried about their young getting into trouble. The children know better than to come home after the sun sets lest they face their parent's wrath. The elderly sit on verandas watching those still blessed with their youth work the earth or play without a care in the world, wrinkled faces smiling as children dart past their homes.

Today there are no children running in the streets, their laughter bouncing off every surface, no hunched over figures in the fields as they complete a hard day's work, and those wisened by their years do not sit on their verandas ready to lend an ear to the troubles of the young. No, today the village's occupants are gathered to mourn the loss of one of their own. A young woman who hadn't lived in the village her whole life, having moved to the village at the young age of 18. Despite her short tenure the village was mourning just as much as they would for someone who had lived out their whole life within the village walls. But perhaps the one who was mourning the most was the woman's five year old daughter. Now without a mother, and having never known her father, the little girl had no one to turn to. The village leader was planning on taking the child in, that is, until he read her mother's will and learned the identity of the child's father. It turned out that her final wish was for her daughter to live with her father. And so, with a heavy heart, the village leader took the little girl to her father, and the small village lost another member.

* * *

"Jii-chan… where are we going?" A little girl asked the village leader as they rode on the back of a cart amongst the many bushels of produce.

"We're going to where your papa lives, Ran-chan, Konoha," Saito, the village leader, answered. Saito had been the village leader for over 30 years. He had been there for the births of many of the villagers, and the births of their grandchildren, in several cases. He viewed his village as a large family, seeing the villagers as his children. It would most certainly be hard for Ran to adjust in a village far away full of people she didn't know. It would be difficult on Saito and those who had grown close with the child during her short life, but her mother believed that her living with her father would be for the best. Yes it hurt, but who was he to deny the final wish of a dead woman, the final wish of one of his children?

"Konoha…?" Ran asked slowly, breaking him out of his musings, trying out the name on her tongue. "The village is called Leaf?" She scrunched up her face in confusion.

"Konohagakure no Sato is the full name," Saito explained with a chuckle.

"Why's it hidden in leaves?"

"Well, that's kinda a long story… hmmm, you know what a shinobi is, right?" _Those damnable shinobi! And I'm sending her to live amongst them! Sweet little Ran-!_ Saito's hatred for shinobi ran deep, but he didn't let any of it show on his face or voice. He wouldn't want to confuse the child even more. Lord knew this whole situation was confusing enough as is.

"Uh-huh."

"Well, shinobi don't necessarily like it when everyone knows where their base is, so they make their homes hidden," Saito attempted to explain, not that he really knew the actual reason the village was referred to as 'hidden', but a little lie wouldn't hurt the child. Better to give the girl a false story than have to deal with a long string of 'why' and 'how comes' until they reached the village.

"So its location is a secret?" Ran continued, not ready to let the matter drop.

"Yeah…"

"So does that make us super special since we know where it is?"

"S-sure…Oh, look, Ran-chan! You can see the village gates!" Saito exclaimed, hoping the towering gates would distract the girl from her questions.

"That doesn't look very hidden…" Ran muttered to herself, "no secret entrances, nothin' but a big gate opened wide to let anyone in…! Bet they don't even use passwords."

The young man driving the cart let out a laugh at her comments as they passed the towering gates, "I'll drop the two of you off here to deal with whatever business needs to be attended about the squirt while I go drop off these here crops," the young man said as he slowed the cart to a stop in front of the desk two shinobi currently resided. He offered them a wave before helping Saito and Ran out of the back.

"Thank you, Kenji-kun, I'm sure we'll be able to handle things from here on out," Saito said while taking Ran's hand before waving the younger man off. Kenji was a man in his early 20s and made this trip to Konoha twice a month to deliver the crops their village sold. He had been more than happy to give the two of them a ride to the village on the back of his cart pulled by a pair of oxen. "Come on, Ran-chan," he smiled down at the girl before leading her over to the two ninja.

"Welcome to Konoha," greeted a chipper Kotetsu. How he managed to be so chipper to the many people who visited their desk on a daily basis was beyond his partner, Izumo.

"Is there something you need?" Asked a far more subdued Izumo.

"Yes," Saito said with a far colder expression than the one he just gave Ran, "it's about this child." The two ninja were taken aback briefly by the old man's expression, but quickly crained their necks to look over the desk.

"Ah, well… I don't know if we're currently taking in orphans…" Kotetsu cut off the elderly man with a nervous scratch of the back of his neck.

"She isn't an orphan!" Saito snapped, causing Kotetsu and Izumo to flinch back slightly, "I was getting to that before you so rudely interrupted me! Do the youth of today have no respect for their elders? This child has far better manners than the two of you!" He ranted while pinning the two with a glare.

"A-ahh, we're terribly sorry," Izumo tried to placate the man, "you were saying… about the girl…?"

Saito let out a huff before he continued, "yes, as I was saying, she still has a father. He is supposedly one of your shinobi," spitting out the word 'shinobi' like a swear. That got the ninja's attention, illegitimate children of shinobi could cause kekkai genkai and other village secrets to fall into enemy hands. Punishment for the so called 'mission babies' could range from fines and slaps on the wrists for those with no hereditary skills, all the way to serious demotions and even jail time for those who could pass on village secrets to their children. Most of the children were discovered by other shinobi, not brought willingly into the village like this, although.

"I'll inform Tsunade-sama," Izumo said to his partner before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

"Oi! Where'd he go?" Saito exclaimed. _Do none of these 'people' have manners?!_

"If what you say is true then this is a very serious matter, my colleague went to inform the Hokage," Kotetsu explained, his joking and laid back demeanor disappearing. Now, Saito might not have known much about Shinobi and their ways, but one thing he did know was that the Hokage was the village's leader and considered the strongest within said village. His hand unconsciously tightened around Ran's as he thought of what that could mean for the child. Said child looked up at him curiously, not really understanding what was going on. The three awaited the return of the bandana'd shinobi, Ran shifting her weight from foot to foot and occasionally kicking the little pebbles that lingered on the road, Saito silently worrying, and Kotetsu stealing glances at Ran every so often.

It wasn't long before Izumo returned with another chuunin in tow. "I'll be escorting the two of you to the Hokage tower, if you'll follow me," the new comer stated before gesturing for Ran and Saito to follow him. The elderly man quietly pulled Ran through the streets as she looked up in wonder at the tall buildings that surrounded them.

"Whose kid do you think she is?" Izumo asked his friend as they watched the trio walking farther into the village.

"No idea, but she did feel vaguely familiar…"

* * *

Tsunade was not having a good day. It had started with an incredibly frustrating meeting with the clan heads, followed closely by a 'meeting' with the elders that was really just them using the meeting for an excuse to nag her for some reason or another. As soon as she had returned to her office, Shizune had buried her alive in paperwork. Now there was a possible mission baby to top things off.

She needed a drink.

But lo and behold Shizune had raided her stash and left her without so much a sake cup. Sometimes she really hated her assistant.

"Tsunade-sama," said assistant poked her head into her office, "the child and her current guardian are here…"

"Thank you, Shizune, send him in."

"And the girl?" Damn. She hadn't thought of that, what would she do with the brat during the meeting? "I can stay with her while you meet with her guardian," Shizune offered after seeing Tsunade's contemplative expression.

"That would probably be best." A few moments later a knock sounded on the hard wood of the office door and an elderly man in his late 60's, early 70's, stepped through the threshold after being given permission. Tsunade narrowed her eyes as she examined the old man. His skin was incredibly wrinkled, and his hair had long since been turned white. Only a few hairs remained on his head while a bushy mustache obscured almost all of his mouth. Despite his hunched back and bones obviously weary from a life full of hard work, he didn't use a cane. No, he had far too much pride for that.

"So, you're the leader of this village?" Saito asked with a cold calculating glance at Tsunade.

"You could say that," she responded, "why don't we get down to business? That girl you had with you, she's the daughter of one of my shinobi? Or so you claim… " The Hokage continued, her hard eyes narrowing over her interlaced fingers that rested in front of her face.

"I can assure you that this is no lie," Saito spat, "I have the late mother's will with me. Everything is explained within," reaching into his kimono, he pulled out a folded piece of paper and unceremoniously tossed it onto the Hokage's desk. Tsunade let out a huff at the elderly man's rudeness before unfolding the will. She mostly skimmed over it until she came to the relevant portion:

 _In the event of my death, I wish for my daughter: Koizumi Ran to move to Konohagakure no Sato in order to live with her father, one…_ Tsunade's eyes widened in shock as she read the name before she promptly pinched to bridge of her nose. If this were true, it would cause her quite the headache. "How certain was she of her daughter's paternity?" The woman asked after a few moments.

"She had confided in me that there wasn't anyone before or after him for quite some time," Saito answered, "she was absolutely certain."

Tsunade let out a sigh after setting her forehead on her intertwined fingers, "we will need to confirm this ourselves, of course, before anything can be decided," Tsunade said after she raised her head.

"Of course," Saito said with a slight nod of his head before exiting the office, not even waiting for a dismissal.

"Rude old man…!" Tsunade growled as she glared daggers at the door Saito had just closed. _This really is a problem…_ The Hokage thought as she looked down at the name on the will again, _Hatake Kakashi_.

She really needed a drink.

* * *

Tsunade needed a lot of drinks.

They had run the DNA test three times and every time it had come back positive.

Hatake Kakashi was without a doubt Koizumi Ran's father.

"Shizune!" Tsunade ordered, causing the younger woman to squeak in fear.

"Y-yes, Tsunade-sama?"

"Have Kakashi brought in to see me immediately!"  
"Y-yes!"  
"And bring me a bottle of sake!"

"A-are you sure that's a good idea Tsu-"

"Now, Shizune!"

"Y-yes ma'am!"

* * *

Now, usually, 'immediately' in Kakashi time meant a least an hour, but when the porn reading jonin was confronted with a rather frazzled and terrified looking Shizune, he really had no option but to follow behind the woman as they headed towards the Hokage tower. Noticing the large jug of sake Shizune was carrying, Kakashi became worried for his health. Tsunade was certainly not in a good mood. He started to frantically think back to all the possible things he had done to possibly make her this mad. He couldn't remember anything, so maybe this wasn't related to him? A man could only hope. And there were those looks Shizune kept sending him when she thought he wasn't looking. That certainly couldn't be good…

"Tsu-Tsunade-sama, I've brought Kakashi-san…" Tsunade's assistant nervously said as she opened the door to her office without bothering to knock first. Another bad sign. Shizune quickly put the sake bottle on her mentor's desk before all but fleeing out the door. Oh, he was totally dead.

Tsunade didn't even glance at him before broke open the sake, serving herself several dishes in quick succession. "Why do you always cause me problems?" She grumbled nastily between cupfulls.

"Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi asked in what he hoped was a placating manner.

"Shut it!" The Hokage exclaimed as she tossed the empty cup at his head, luckily, Kakashi managed to dodge it. Now he was just hoping they would find his body. Tsunade took a few calming breaths as she massaged her temples before she said, "you've really done it this time, Kakashi."

"Ah… what exactly have I done…?"

The Hokage was quiet for a few moments, seemingly gathering her thoughts, "there is a small farming village on the borders of Fire and River countries, close to the ocean. You would have had a mission there about five years ago."

Kakashi scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion as he thought back, "I have vague memories of such a place, but what does that have to do with this?"

"There was a woman there," Tsunade continued, causing Kakashi's eye to widen substantially, "Koizumi Hitomi."

"Wh-what does she have to do with this?" Kakashi felt his throat going dry. Truthfully, he did not remember the woman's name, just that the two of them had had a one night stand the night before he was to leave the village. The mission, a simple check in, had been successful. There was no harm. He had left before she had even woken up. The town's people had such a grudge against shinobi that no one had let him rent a room. He was prepared to set up camp just outside of the village, but she had offered to let him spend the night in her home. She had said that she didn't hate shinobi like most of the others since she had only lived there for a few years. Nothing was meant to happen, but one thing led to another… and well…

"She died two weeks ago," Tsunade cut through his thoughts.

"Ah, well… that's unfortunate… but what does that have to do with me…?"

"She had a child. A daughter, to be specific." Kakashi could feel his heart stop beating in his chest. "She's yours, you're a father, Kakashi."

"Wh-what…? Are you certain…?"

"We ran the test three times."

Kakashi stared down at his hands, he couldn't be a father. He just couldn't! Minato-sensei was the kind of man who was supposed to be a father, not him! Hell, even Asuma would be a better father than him. He was just not the right kind of person to be raising children. Look at what had happened with his genin team: Sasuke left the village, Naruto left to train with Jiraiya, and Sakura became Tsunade's pupil. What kind of damage would he do to a child who was, what? Five? No, no, he would just do more damage to the poor child if he were in her life.

"What's going to happen to her?" Kakashi asked, his voice hoarse, not noticing that his hands had started to shake.

"Hitomi's will states that in the event of her death that Ran should come to live with you," Tsunade said surprisingly gently before Kakashi cut her off.

"Ran…? Her name is Ran?" His voice small.

"Yes… the village leader brought her here, said that he wouldn't deny a dead woman's final wish and said that he wouldn't take her back…"

"Won't take her back…?"

"He was rather adamant that being with her father would be better than remaining in a village that she holds no ties to," Tsunade said with a small sigh.

"Doesn't she have any other family…?"

"Apparently Hitomi was an only child whose parents died when she was young and her grandparents died not long before Ran was born."

"So I'm all she has left, then…?"

Tsunade was quiet for a moment before responding, "yes."

Kakashi was quiet for several minutes while he seemed to waging an internal war with himself before he said, "alright. I'll do it, I'll take her in." Tsunade seemed surprised by proclamation for a few seconds before she smiled.

"I'm glad," she said sincerely, "but the matter of your punishment still stands." That statement caused Kakashi to flinch briefly. "Since you are an elite jounin, we can't just ignore this, but you are also the last member of the Hatake clan. You never expressed an interest of continuing the line, but now there is a child who has most likely inherited the clan's traits. Ran could be considered an asset to the village, even more since you are the one raising her," Tsunade paused as she contemplated a suitable punishment, "first I expect you to forfeit the equivalent to five A-ranks as a fine, as well as completing a D-rank every day for the next month." She smirked as the visible part of his face paled, "and no using shadow clones or your dogs to complete them!" Kakashi made a vague choking sound, but he couldn't help feeling grateful to Tsunade. She really could have made it far worse, and would probably get some heat from the elders, but had opted to let him off with a slap on the wrist.

"I understand, Tsunade-sama," he paused for a moment before adding, "thank you."

Tsunade smiled genuinely before saying, "would you like to meet her?"

Kakashi started before shakily nodding his head. _This is really happening then… I'm going to be a father…_ He thought as Tsunade called Shizune in and told her to bring Ran in. Time seemed to slow down as Shizune left to retrieve his daughter. God, his _daughter_. A little girl. Oh man, what was he getting himself into? He had no idea how to raise a little girl! Maybe a little boy, but definitely not a little girl! He was snapped out of his musings as the door clicked open and he was suddenly staring at eyes so much like his own. She was looking up at him curiously, a slight frown set in her round face. She barely came up to his hips and had incredibly thick hair the color of rose gold that came down to her shoulders. Adorned in a short sleeveless white yukata that mostly covered her rolled up blue shorts, showing that the underside of the fabric was white. A spring green sash was tied in a loose bow on her side, the loose parts of the bow hanging down past her mid-thigh.

"Who're you?" Ran asked, half hiding behind shizune. As soon as she opened her mouth, Kakashi spotted the four very prominent canine teeth all members of the Hatake clan possessed.

"This is your father, Ran-chan," Shizune thankfully answered the girl. Ran looked from Shizune to Kakashi back to Shizune before back to Kakashi, staring blankly at him, not really sure what to do.

Crouching so that he was eye to eye with Ran, "hello, Ran-chan, I'm Kakashi and I'm your father." The little girl shifted nervously, causing Kakashi to notice that she wasn't wearing the usual ninja scandals, but wooden ones with soles a good inch or two thick with a bright red strap that ran horizontally across her feet. When he looked back up, he notice that she was looking at something slightly above his eye-his headband. She slowly reached up a hand and touched the metal before flinching back at the coolness of it. "what's it mean?" Ran asked.

"Ah, this says I'm a shinobi of Konoha," Kakashi explained, pointing at the leaf smack dab in the center. "Do you know what a shinobi is?" Ran nodded vigorously, "such a clever girl!" He exclaimed, giving her an eye smile.

"Speaking of shinobi," Tsunade interrupted, "don't you have a meeting with your team?"

"Oh… haha… there was one at ten AM…" Kakashi said nervously while rubbing the back of his head.

"It's already two…" Tsunade stated.

"I think I have left them waiting long enough, then! Would you like to meet my students and co-worker, Ran-chan?" Hoping to avoid Tsunade's wrath over his tardiness by bringing her attention to the child in the room. She wouldn't punch him through a wall with a child present, much less his daughter, right…?

Said daughter turned to Shizune and said, "my backpack…"

"Oh I'm sure you're tired of carrying that around, right? I'm sure we can it delivered to Kakashi-san's apartment." Shizune reassured the girl with a bright smile. "Now, you really should go meet your team, Kakashi-san!" She scolded as she herded the two out of the office.

* * *

The walk to training ground seven was a quiet affair. Kakashi held _Icha Icha Tactics_ to his face while he subtly observed the little girl who was his daughter. God, _that_ felt so strange to think. Him, a father…! Obito must be laughing incredibly hard in the afterlife. Minato-sensei and Rin would probably be happy for him, but Obito was definitely laughing. And there was his father… what would he think of all this? Would he play the doting grandfather and spoil her rotten? Would he be proud of Kakashi…? Most likely not… A child born of a one night stand, and on a mission no less. To make matters worse, he wasn't there for the first five years of her life, only meeting her because her mother had died.

He glanced down at Ran, noticing how she was close enough to him to not get separated or lost, but not close enough for him to touch her. _Rather cautious…_ Kakashi thought, not really sure if it was a good or bad thing. _What have I gotten myself into, Minato-sensei…?_ He thought as he turned to gaze at the Hokage monument. His daughter turned to stare at him with an unwavering gaze. "Yes?" He asked with a slight incline of his head. Ran only shook her head before running ahead a bit, despite not knowing where they were going, and Kakashi couldn't help but heave a sigh. It appeared that this was going to take some time…

Fortunately for them, more for Kakashi than Ran, the pair didn't run into anyone he knew. But that might have more to do with the fact that he took more back roads than usual, but whatever. Before long they had reached the training grounds and the clacking of Ran's wooden shoes on the stone streets softened as she padded onto the soft grass. At which time, she promptly stepped out of her scandals and dug her toes into the grass. Her previously blank expression changed into one of joy as the two crossed the many training grounds before ground seven as she carried her shoes, one in each hand. _Well, there shouldn't be any harm in letting her go barefoot. Hopefully…_ Kakashi hoped there weren't any lingering makibishi left behind by any less than diligent ninja. Her getting hurt within the first hour of being in his custody certainly wouldn't look good.

It didn't take Kakashi and Ran too long before they came upon training ground seven and the current members of Team Seven. Naruto was currently lounging in the grass, Sai sat against a tree sketching on a pad of paper, Sakura was diligently sharpening her tools, and Tenzou was half dozing against a tree. It appeared Sai was the first to notice their arrival, but made no outward signs of it besides for a small flick of his eyes towards their direction. Tenzou snapped out of his dozing with a low mutter of "finally…!" This got the attention of the two original members of Team Seven, who promptly leapt to their feet and yelled, "YOU'RE LATE!" in unison. Their shout made Ran flinch back a few steps, but it didn't seem as though the two had noticed her presence yet.

"Mah, mah, I was going to be here earlier, don't give me that look, but some flowers were delivered to me and I had to attend to them," Kakashi teased, and hey, it was technically the truth. The pun was just a bonus.

"LIAR-wait, what? That doesn't make sense…" Naruto exclaimed, ready to start ranting, but Kakashi's excuse made him narrow his eyes in confusion. "Ne, ne, Kakashi-sensei, who's the kid? Is she a client? Is she a princess we've been tasked with guarding?" It seemed as though he had finally noticed Ran, but Kakashi held up his hand to halt his questions. Naruto always jumped to the most ridiculous conclusions when it came to mission clients.

"Well, Naruto-kun," he paused for moment, "it appears that she's my daughter."

A beat.

A second beat.

And then all hell proceeded to break loose.

* * *

A/N: Well, here's the first chapter! There is probably going to a lot of shifting between humorous and more serious scenes until more of Ran's personality starts to shine through. Also, I am going to be taking some creative liberties with the Hatake clan since so little is known about them in canon.

Hoped you liked it~!


	2. Meetings and Questions

Tenzou had opened his mouth but couldn't seem to get any noise out, Sai was just staring, he most likely didn't know how to even begin to respond to something like this, Sakura kept looking from Kakashi to Ran and back again with big eyes and her jaw hanging open, and then there was Naruto. Poor Naruto at first looked like he was having an aneurysm trying to say something, but then shifted gears to simply yelling. Kakashi awkwardly scratched the back of his head as he waited for the four to regain coherent thought while Ran shifted nervously from foot to foot.

Of course, it was Sai who broke the dazed silence, "huh, I had just assumed you were asexual, Kakashi-senpai."

He was going to hit this kid one day.

"THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THIS SITUATION?!" Naruto screamed, causing a few nearby birds to fly away.

It appeared as though Sakura was the next one to come out of it. It was good to know at least one of his team members was able to function after a shock. "She has your eyes… or well, eye at least…" She said as she bent down a little bit to get a better look at Ran. Who in turn gave the kunoichi a small smile. "I'm Sakura, what's your name?" She asked. At least she was good with kids, not much could be said for the rest of the team, though.

"Ran…" She answered shyly.

"What a pretty name," Sakura complemented with a sweet smile, "we're both named after flowers, cherry blossoms and orchids!" Ran's smile grew a little larger and she let out small giggle as Sakura patted her on the head.

"So your sensei's kid, eh?" Naruto said in surprise, finally coming out of his shock, opting to plop himself in the grass in front of her. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm gonna be the Hokage, dattebayo! " Ran just stared at him with blank expression, "ah, I guess you wouldn't know what that is… The Hokage is the strongest person in the village and protects everyone, 'ttebayo! These are our teammates: Sai and Yamato-taichou. Sai's the pale one and Yamato's the one currently having trouble speaking." That got a bit more of a reaction out of the girl, who nodded slightly in understanding. Before she turned to briefly look up at Sai and Yamato. "So, Ran, why are you here in Konoha?" The little girl promptly looked away and clutched the hem of her yukata tightly.

"She's going to be staying with me from now on," Kakashi said, finally joining the conversation. That declaration earned him a few odd glances from the members of his team.

"Senpai, are you sure that's a good idea?" _Ah, Tenzou's back_ , Kakashi thought as he turned to his kouhai.

"Not really, but it's not like she has any better options since her mother passed two weeks ago…" He explained after he had covered Ran's ears; he really didn't want to deal with tears right now. The jonin received a puzzled look from the girl, but she didn't make any attempts to shake free from his hands. That was a good sign, right?

Naruto and Sakura promptly sombered while Tenzou let out a sigh and Sai looked contemplative. Everyone on Team Seven knew loss. There was Naruto, never knowing the warmth of his mother's embrace or the strength of his father's hand on his shoulder. Sakura had lost the boy and teammate she loved with all her heart. There was Sai, forced to kill the only family he ever had. Tenzou watched as his fellow child experiments died one by one. And then there was Kakashi-who knew loss like an old friend.

"Sakura, Naruto, why don't the two of you show Ran around the training field," Kakashi broke the silence they had lapsed into with a suggestion. It wasn't as though he wanted to get rid of them… ok, maybe he kinda did, but it looked like Tenzou wanted to have a word with him. More like words, but it would be better if Ran wasn't around for them. And it wasn't as though he disliked Naruto, but the boy lacked a certain… tact… that was necessary for conversations such as these.

Sakura nodded, after a moment, in understanding. She grabbed Naruto by the back of his collar before he could start complaining, "come on Ran-chan, there are some pretty flowers on the edge of the training field!" Sakura explained as she took the young girl's hand. Ran looked at the older girl in amazement as she dragged Naruto behind them as though he weighed nothing.

Kakashi quickly retreated to the shade of one of the trees on the opposite end of the clearing before Tenzou had the chance to bombard him with questions. If he was going to have this conversation he might as well be comfortable. Tenzou let out a sigh as he collapsed next to him, Sai opting to lean against the tree. The three watched Naruto and Sakura tried to get the younger, and far more subdued, child more interested in whatever they were doing. Ran was gazing around the large clearing, not paying attention to what the older two were saying, before her eyes came to land on Kakashi. She held his gaze for a few moments before moving on.

"So she's a mission baby, then?" Sai asked, the first to breech the subject, not even bothering to look at Kakashi.

"Yeah…" he replied, staring rather intently at the grass. Maybe he could make it spontaneously combust and get his out of this conversation.

"Do you even know the first thing about raising a child, Senpai?" Tenzou asked, his reaching a new pitch in slight hysteria.

"I'd imagine it would be something along the lines of 'make sure to feed and water them at least twice a day'."

"This isn't a joking matter, Senpai!" Tenzou exclaimed.

"You think I don't know that?" Kakashi snapped back, far more serious than he was a second ago, "you think I don't know I'm the least suited person for this job? But she doesn't have any other family… either I take her in or send her to an orphanage. Which I highly doubt Tsunade-sama or the Council would allow, not when they could possibly have another me or another White Fang their ranks…" Tenzou feel quiet as he began to think of just what that would mean for the girl.

The Hatake clan was known for its superb warriors since the warring states era, but their numbers had weaned over the years due to a higher rate of deaths than births. By the time Konoha was founded there were only a few dozen left to join the village, and even then their numbers continued to die out. Kakashi and his daughter were the last of a powerful all-but-dead race, and he had no doubt in his mind that some very dangerous people would want her for their own. If he were to forfeit his parental rights it would only make it that much easier for them to get their hands on her. No, by keeping her with him, he was keeping her safe… right?

"Maybe she won't inherit any of your abilities…" Tenzou said hopefully. He had obviously come to the same conclusion.

"You saw her teeth, didn't you? It's only a matter of time before her sense of smell begins to enhance, if it hasn't already," Kakashi dropped his head into his hands before looking back over to where his students and… daughter… were currently playing some sort of starting and stopping game.

For what felt like the hundredth time that day Kakashi wondered what he had gotten himself into.

* * *

Eventually, Naruto, Sakura, and Ran wandered back over to the tree that the older members of the team were residing. Ran still hadn't said much, but she seemed to be far more comfortable around Naruto and Sakura. Even more so with the latter. Unfortunately that seemed to fade as soon as the two groups rejoined, and Ran quickly reverted back to her distant and slightly skittish behavior. She seemed the most uncomfortable around Sai, Kakashi could have sworn he heard a mutter of "creepy" from the girl, but she showed no outward signs of having made the comment. He simply glanced down at Ran, who met his gaze unfazed, over the edge of _Icha Icha Tactics_. _Kid has nerves of steel_ , he thought with a laugh.

"Ah! Kakashi-sensei, you shouldn't read dirty books in front of a child! Much less your daughter!" Sakura exclaimed, raising her hand as if to snatch the book right out of his hands.

"Mah, mah, I doubt she can read what it says," Kakashi responded in a placating manner as he moved the book out of her reach. He really doubted that she would actually be able to take it from him, but Kakashi wasn't about to risk it.

"Icha Icha Tactics," came a quiet voice from next to him.

"Come again?" Kakashi asked, blinking in surprise.

"It says Icha Icha Tactics," Ran said more firmly. Sakura promptly gave him a pointed look after her admission. Letting out a sigh, Kakashi stored away his beloved book for later, or when Sakura wasn't around to scold him about it.

"Heeh? You can read that, Ran?" Naruto exclaimed.

Ran nodded seriously once before saying, "I know the kanas and have started learning kanji. I already know 100!" She puffed out her chest in pride of her achievements.

"Oh wow! Why'd you start learnin' 'em so early? We didn't start learning kanji until halfway through our first year at the academy," Naruto said, thinking back to the squiggly lines Iruka-sensei wrote on the board and then were forced to learn. He shuttered at the memory; Japanese never was his best subject…

Ran's chest deflated at Naruto's question and she started to scuff her feet in the grass, not meeting his gaze. "Mama is… was… a calligrapher and she said it was important to learn them as soon as possible so I could write with her… and stuff…" Tears started to gather at the corners of her eyes and she let out a sniffle. Tenzou promptly took several steps back from the girl, as though she were a ticking time bomb, and Kakashi was sorely tempted to join him. Handling crying children certainly wasn't his forte.

Luckily, Team Seven came with two members who weren't emotionally stunted in some way, shape, or form, but they weren't much better at handling a crying child. Naruto made a noise between a shout and a cry as he frantically waved his arms as Sakura desperately looked for something to distract the child with. Sai just watched. He found this whole situation fascinating.

"AAH! Uhhh… ah! Ran I bet you're hungry, r-right?" Naruto nervously asked, hoping to distract her to .

"Uh-huh…" She replied, her voice a little shaky.

"Ah well, how about we get some ramen then? I'm starving, dattebayo!"

"Ramen…?"

"Wait, you don't know what ramen is?!" Naruto yelled in a mix of shock and horror that only grew when Ran nodded her head in confirmation, "ramen is only the best most amazing food ever created, dattebayo! That settles it, we're getting ramen, and Ichiraku makes the best ramen ever." Naruto nodded his head in determination before turning to Kakashi, "and I'm sure your tou-chan would be more than glad to treat all of us! Right, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Wait-"

"Ahh! Kakashi-sensei is so kind!" Sakura proclaimed.

"Senpai truly cares for his teammates," Tenzou added with a nod.

"W-wait! I never said I would-" Kakashi tried to explain, but it seemed that his team wasn't listening.

"I think I'll get miso ramen first, 'ttebayo, then maybe some tonkatsu… ahhh I wonder how many bowls I'll be able to eat…" Naruto murmured happily, a small trail of drool making its way out of his mouth. "What are you going to get Sakura-chan? Sai?"

"Hmm, I was thinking of getting some pork ramen," Sakura said as she took Ran's hand and the group started to make their way towards the ramen stand-without Kakashi

"I was thinking of getting shio ramen…" Sai added to the conversation.

"I said wait!" Kakashi ran after the group, internally crying over his poor wallet.

* * *

"Jii-chan! We have a ramen emergency on our hands!" Naruto yelled as he collided with the counter of Ichiraku. "This tiny child has never had ramen before, dattebayo!" He then proceeded to lift Ran above the counter so Teuchi would be able to see her. "We need your best ramen, stat!"

"Don't you think you're over exaggerating, Naruto? How big a deal can her first time eating ramen be?" Sakura asked as she removed Ran from his grip and promptly sat her on one of the stools.

"How can you say that, Sakura-chan?! Your first taste of ramen determines how you will view ramen for the rest of your life! It has to be perfect, dattebayo! Just look at Teuchi-jii-chan!" Naruto pointed one very enthusiastic finger at the owner of the ramen stand who was currently surrounded by a very serious and determined aura.

"Leave it to me, Naruto," Teuchi said with a Cool-Guy thumb's up and eye twinkle before he turned back to the kitchen.

"I suddenly feel as though I am very out of my depth here…" Sakura muttered into the palm of her hand. Team Seven plus one quickly sat down and placed their orders while Ran sat on Sakura's lap so she would be able to see over the counter.

 _Seems as though Ran has gotten rather attached to her_ , Kakashi thought as he glanced at the pair. He wasn't sure how it felt about it though. It made sense that Ran liked her, Sakura had a lot of motherly qualities when her temper wasn't flaring or she was punching holes in the ground. _But why does Ran seem so much more comfortable and open with Naruto and Sakura? Is it because they are closer in age?_ Kakashi mentally sighed as he dismissed the thought, he was probably just over thinking it.

"Here you go! One bowl that's perfect for the first time trying ramen!" Teuchi exclaimed as he set a bowl in front of Ran and Sakura. Naruto watched very closely as the latter helped the former take a bite, his own ramen currently being ignored.

"Well, well? What'cha think?" Naruto asked excitedly as Ran chewed and swallowed.

"It's good…Can I have some more?" Ran asked Sakura, who was more than happy to oblige. Naruto let out a cheer and began rattling off the many different kinds of ramen to Ran as he attacked his own bowl.

Kakashi took advantage of his team's current distraction to quickly eat his own ramen in peace before looking down at his daughter who was seated next to him. He watched as Sakura helped her eat, all the while wondering if _he_ should be the one helping her. It wasn't as though he had a lot of experience to lean on with his own father. Sakumo was incredibly dedicated to his son, but Kakashi had been a rather independent child. Having already graduated the academy at Ran's age, it wasn't like he could use himself as a guide for how a regular five-year-old acted, and a little girl at that. Kakashi knew he was way out of his depth here, and he was very tempted to bang his head against the table in frustration. Unfortunately he still had that small sliver left of his dignity and he wanted to preserve it.

Give him an S-ranked mission and he had no problems. Suicide mission? He had survived so many of those that he didn't even blink an eye at the title anymore. Kakashi had led ANBU missions like most chuunin led regular missions, but put him in charge of a bunch of children? That's where he struggled. Training a bunch of genin fresh out of the academy was hard enough, but a little kid was going to be so much more difficult.

At least his cute little genin only relied on him for the ninja aspect of their lives, but Ran was going to be relying on him for everything. Food, shelter, care and affection, life advice, teaching her the way the world works, friends, and possibly boys (Kakashi truly hoped she would go to someone else when that time came). This teeny tiny human would be relying on him from that point on to raise her into a proper adult, and Kakashi was sorely tempted to make a break for the hills. At least he had the option of failing genin. _At least the day is nearly over, how much worse can it get?_

A small tug on his sleeve brought him out of his thoughts and he realized that the current subject of his internal screaming was trying to get his attention. "Yes…?"

"Ne, ne, it's getting late," Ran said pointing at the setting sun, "when is Jii-chan coming to get me? I want to go home."

Fate was never one to shy away from a challenge, and suddenly Kakashi wasn't feeling so attached to that sliver of his dignity anymore.

* * *

A/N: When Ran said she knew her kanas she was referring to hiragana and katakana. They are a simpler form of Japanese writing that can be used to replace individual kanji with characters that represent each sound of the Japanese language. Of course that is just scratching the surface, but you get the idea. Japanese children know 1,006 kanji by the time they graduate elementary school. The 1,000 kanji are learned over the course of six years starting with 80 in first year, 160 in second, 200 in third, 200 in fourth, 185 in fifth, and 181 in sixth. Ran would be making her way through the second year's list.

So that was just a little background info/cultural blurb. I'll probably be going more into just how Konoha teaches their kiddos later in the story because that is one big open ended can of worms.


	3. The Truth Gets Out

Update: Oh god I forgot to replace my line reminders with actual lines, please forget you saw that...

* * *

No one knew how to respond to Ran's question. Even if they did, who would want to be the to explain just what was going on to the girl? Certainly not Yamato-who promptly disappeared in cloud of smoke without so much of a word. Sai quickly followed his lead and was gone in the blink of an eye.

 _Trators…!_ Kakashi mentally grumbled at them. Maybe he could sneak away as well and leave this to Naruto and Sakura… The latter, seemingly reading his mind, shot him a look that promised large amounts of pain if he followed that train of thought. Ran hadn't looked away from him, waiting expectantly for an answer.

"Ah… well Ran… you're going to staying with me from now on… here in the village."

"So Jii-chan isn't coming to get me?"

"No…" Kakashi said with a slight wince.

Ran fell quiet as she thought about what that meant for her, "does he not want me anymore…?"

Kakashi full on winced at that, how the hell was he supposed to respond to that? "...I'm sure he still wants you, but your mother wanted you to live with me and he didn't want to go against her wishes…" Was the best he was able to come up with after a few moments. _Why do kids always have to ask the hardest questions?_

Ran really didn't seem to have much of a reaction to his explanation, most likely not believing him. Kakashi let out a sigh as he ruffled his hair. _Now what?_ Should he bring her to his apartment? The jonin was pretty sure he had an old ratty futon stored in the closet, but that was the least of his worries. He could tell with one glance that Ran was covered in dirt and dust from her trip to the village. She would need a bath, and it was rather unlikely she would let him give her one. Not that he would be anywhere near comfortable bathing her. Maybe Sakura would be willing to…?

"Well, it's getting late, we should head home," Kakashi for once actually paid for himself and Ran, but Naruto or Sakura was going to have to cover Sai and Tenzou's. It'd probably end up being Naruto; knowing their female teammate. Ran looked from him and back up to Sakura before she jumped down from the older girl's lap.

"Can you come with us…?" She asked Sakura and Naruto with big eyes and small tug on the girl's hand. Sakura looked like she was trying to find a way to politely refuse that the little girl would understand. "Can they come too…?" Ran turned to Kakashi and belatedly asked with those big sad eyes. _It wouldn't hurt to have them tag along._

"I guess they can stay for a while," he sighed.

"Hell yeah! Party at sensei's house!" Naruto exclaimed as he jumped up from his seat.

"Idiot, it's not going like that," Sakura scolded.

"Oi, someone needs to pay," Teuchi said holding up a bill.

"Damn that Sai and Yamato-taichou… sticking us with their bill! Ne, Sakura-chan, do you wanna split it?" But when Naruto looked back at Sakura, she was already turning the corner at the end of the street. Kakashi was leading the way to his apartment with Ran in tow.

"Sa-sakura-chan…!" Naruto cried before he dejectedly took out his wallet to pay.

* * *

Kakashi's apartment was in one of the many buildings Konoha had that offered low rent costs to active shinobi. He had lived in the same apartment since he was 17, and despite having more than enough money to get a better place, Kakashi was far too lazy to move out. And all he really needed was a place to sleep every once and awhile and a place to store his books. His apartment was situated on the third floor of the five story complex. It was a single bed and bath with a small living area with an attached kitchenette. There was a small dining table with two chairs in the kitchen while the living area sported a low table and cushions. A small TV sat on a wooden stand next to a bookshelf filled books ranging a myriad of subjects, but most related to shinobi in some way or another. There was a distinct lack of the _Icha Icha_ series though; Kakashi kept those on the bookshelf in his room.

"So this is your house, sensei," Naruto said as he promptly made himself at home on one of the cushions. "You have more books than I would have thought, ya know? I mean, all we ever see you reading are those dirty books by Ero-sennin."

"I'm glad you think so highly of me," Kakashi retorted.

"It's cleaner than I would have expected," Sakura commented as she entered.

"Do both my students really think so little of me?" He exclaimed in mock hurt.

"Yes," they responded in unison, causing Kakashi hang his head in defeat.

Ran was the last one to enter the apartment, and once she had kicked off her sandals, she looked at a loss for what to do next.

"Sakura, do you think you could give Ran a bath?" Kakashi asked hopefully.

"Oh? Oh, yeah, sure. Come on, Ran-chan, let's get you cleaned up!" Sakura steered the little girl towards the door Kakashi had pointed out to her. After they closed the door he went into his own room to find the spare futon he was _sure_ he had. He found it after a few minutes in the back of the closet tucked behind several boxes. The thing looked like it hadn't seen the light of day in a decade, which was probably true, due to the amount of dust that had settled into it. Kakashi returned to the living area to find his other student lounging about on his side.

"Here," he said throwing the old and battered futon at him, "make yourself useful and beat the dust out of this." Naruto pulled a face but did as he asked, grumbling as he made a few clones to help him.

"Make sure you do it outside, I don't want all that dust in here."

"Fine, fine…"

* * *

Sakura got a closer look at Ran's hair as she rinsed out all of the shampoo and dirt. What she originally had thought to be a rose color close to her own actually turned out to be more of a pink tinted white. _Huh, looks like she inherited more than just the texture of sensei's hair…_ She thought as she did one last run through of her incredibly thick hair to make sure there wasn't any lingering shampoo.

"There! All clean! Do you want to sit in the bath while I wash?" Sakura asked the girl and helped her into the deep tub after she nodded her head. The older girl quickly set to work washing herself and her hair, ignoring how weird it felt to be using her sensei's shampoo. It seemed to be some sort of special scent eliminating shampoo, not the type Sakura would usually use, but she didn't mind too much. It wasn't too long before the older girl joined Ran in the tub. The two sat in silence for a short while before Ran worked up the courage to speak.

"Ne, what's he like?" She asked.

"Who? Sensei?" Ran confirmed with a serious nod. "Hmm, well he's always late, and he makes awful excuses; super lazy; irresponsible, always making others pay for his food, even when he'd say he'd pay! And he's always reading those dirty books when he's suppose to be doing something important! He doesn't listen when he's told he needs to stay in the hospital, and then he shows up again because he didn't listen and now I need to redo all his stitches because he was too stubborn to listen to the professionals! Nooo, he thinks he soooo tough! The great Sharingan no Kakashi doesn't need hospitals, no HE'S JUST TOO DAMN GOOD FOR THEM, SHANNARO!" Sakura started off relatively calm, but as she went on her voice started to rise in level and before she knew it she was yelling. Angry hand gestures included. When Sakura finally looked back at Ran, she found the poor girl looking considerably paler and quiet shocked and concerned.

"Eh? Ran-chan…?" Sakura called softly as she started to sweat. Maybe she had gone a little over board…? Ran briefly looked up at the older girl before looking back down at the water, apparently going into shock when she started to shake a little.

"Ah-ah! D-don't worry, Ran-chan! Kakashi-sensei as a lot of good traits! Uhh, let's see… Oh! He really does care for his teammates, despite how he may act, he's willing to sacrifice himself to protect them! And, and… … I'm sure he has a lot more good qualities, even if I can't think of them right now!" Sakura nervously rambled before putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. It didn't seem to help much as the poor girl was still looking at the water in shock.

Out in the living area, Kakashi currently had his head against the low table occasionally letting out a groan when Sakura hit a sore spot. _Damn the thin walls in this place!_

"She's right you know," Naruto added as he sipped some tea, apparently having left his clones to finish beating the futon.

Kakashi was sorely tempted to kick him out of his apartment. Literally.

* * *

While Sakura and Ran were in the bath, a chunin from the Hokage's office came and dropped off Ran's backpack. Which turned out to be a very good thing since there were a clean pair of pajamas inside. Kakashi had dropped off her dirty clothes in one of the washing machines on the roof, but they would be washing for a while and then line drying on top of that.

Along with the frog pattern pajamas, Kakashi and Naruto found what looked like an industrial strength hair brush, a rather beat up looking stuffed turtle, a toothbrush, and a framed picture. It showed a beautiful woman with long straight hair, several shades darker than Ran's, held back by a bandanna with ink splattered across her face. She appeared to be laughing at something out of the frame.

"Is that Ran's mother?" Naruto asked as he looked at the picture, "she's really pretty."

"I think that's her…" Kakashi responded as he rubbed his temples.

"What do you mean, you 'think'?" Naruto nearly yelled in disgust, but Kakashi was quick to quiet him. That was definitely not something he wanted Ran to hear. "You don't even remember what the lady who had your kid looked like?" Kakashi winced at the accusation, majorly because it was true.

"It's not exactly as though we spent a lot of time together. Look, we only spent one night together," this was getting a bit too personal for Kakashi's liking, but he knew Naruto would get it out of him one way or another. And it would be better if he heard it from him and not from the rumor mills. "I had no idea Ran even existed until today…and I remember very little about her mother, alright?"

Naruto fell quiet as he looked at the picture before asking, "why do you think she didn't tell you she had your baby…?"

"Maybe she had a better understanding of shinobi politics? … I have no idea, Naruto."

"What do you mean, 'shinobi politics'?" His brow scrunching up in confusion.

Kakashi opened his mouth to explain, but quickly shut it when Sakura and Ran came out of the bathroom with both of their hair a mess. "Sensei, why don't you have a hair brush?" Sakura asked with her hands on her hips. Ran had a towel draped around her shoulders to keep her pajama shirt from getting soaked by her still wet hair.

"I've never really needed one before, but it looks like you're in luck, though! Seems Ran brought one with her," Kakashi explained as he held up the brush.

Sakura looked like she was going to say something, but ended up just shaking her head before taking the brush. The older girl crouched behind Ran before attacking her hair with a towel. It seemed the poor girl's hair was incredibly absorbent and the towel was soaked by the time Sakura deemed her hair dry enough to begin brushing it. The reinforced brush started to make more sense as Sakura had to use quite a bit of strength to get it through Ran's dense locks, who braved the pain in quiet determination. The older girl quickly ran the brush through her own hair before putting it on the low table. Naruto quickly snatched it up and looked at it in amazement.

"My hair has broken brushes before," Ran said in way of an explanation.

"That's actually pretty impressive…" Naruto muttered to himself before he returned the brush to her backpack.

"Well, it's getting late, I think it's time for you two to head home," Kakashi said to Naruto and Sakura as he stood up.

"EEHHH-" Naruto started to complain, but Sakura quickly cut him off.

"I'm sure Ran is tired after the day she's had. Come on, Naruto," she dragged him to the door before letting him go so he could put his scandals on. "we'll see you tomorrow, Kakashi-sensei, Ran-chan."

"Later, sensei," Naruto said with a lazy wave, "Ran." The little girl returning their waves.

"Yeah, tomorrow," Kakashi said before dropping to a whisper, "and thanks for your help today…" The two weren't sure if they had really heard him say the last part before he promptly closed the door in their faces.

"Rude!" Naruto exclaimed before stomping off. Sakura sighed before shaking her head and heading after her teammate.

Kakashi turned back to see Ran uprighting the previously face down picture of Hitomi on the table. She apparently felt his eyes on her and proceeded to look up at him with those big eyes so much like his own. "There is a futon set up for you-" he started to explain before she cut him off.

"Where's Kero-chan? I need him to sleep."

"Kero-chan?"

"My turtle," Ran said seriously, "he should have been in my backpack."

Kakashi dug the stuffed animal, that took up most of the space, out of the backpack before handing it to Ran. "Why's his name Kero? That's the sound frogs make."

"Because he was raised by frogs," Ran stated like that was obvious.

"Of course."

Now that Ran had her turtle, she quietly followed Kakashi into what would now be their shared bedroom. An old, patched-more-than-a-few-times, rather beat up futon sat between Kakashi's bed and desk. He was pretty sure the thing had seen the last two ninja wars. "We'll get a better one tomorrow," he reassured Ran. But it seemed as though she didn't mind and quickly crawled under the quilt. She laid staring up at him expectantly, but Kakashi had no idea what she wanted. "Well… goodnight…" he said a tad awkwardly before he turned off the light and closed the door behind him. Ran had looked a little disappointed when he left without doing whatever it was that she wanted, but he just shrugged it off.

"Goodnight, Kero-chan… Mama," Ran whispered to the turtle before clutching it tightly to her chest and rolling over. In the other room, Kakashi smacked his forehead against the table.

* * *

Kakashi was a ninja. It was the one thing he was good at. Sneaking around and moving without a sound was kinda his thing. So when he went to bed several hours later, he did it without a sound, and was very confident he did it without waking the room's other occupant. One glance confirmed this as Ran currently had her face buried in her stuffed turtle as she slept.

Kakashi: 1

World: 479,675

It was a start.

…

As an elite jonin, it was a given that Kakashi never slept all that deeply, and was quickly brought out of his sleep by a sniffle. A little hiccup followed. Ran was crying. Glancing over at the girl, Kakashi saw that she still had her face buried in Kero-chan as her small shoulders shook. Poor Kakashi had no idea what he should do. Comfort her? She didn't seem to trust him enough for that to be effective. Tell her to be quiet? He wasn't that cruel. Scream internally? Already on it. It seemed as though Ran was trying her best to hide her crying, so Kakashi decided it would be best to pretend to still be asleep.

Eventually Ran's sniffles quieted and her hiccups became more spaced out, and before long she was back asleep. Kakashi let out a sigh and was about to try to fall asleep again, when he heard Ran mummer, "Mama… please come back…" in her sleep.

Kakashi groaned and proceeded to give up on sleep.

…

It appeared he had indeed at fallen asleep at some point. Because he was woken by Ran climbing out of her futon. _Living in the country must have really worn off on the girl…_ Kakashi thought as he watched the sun breaking over the horizon. The kid rose with the sun. He could feel her eyes on him as he continued to feign sleep for several moments before she shuffled closer. Ran seemed to be debating whether or not to wake him up, but decided against it before shuffling over to the door and slipped out quietly.

Kakashi listened closely as she wandered about his appartment. Ran opened several doors before she found the one she was apparently looking for- the bathroom, and it wasn't long before she was exploring again. Kakashi wasn't too worried, anything that she shouldn't see was properly hidden in his room, and he was almost certain there weren't any live traps in the rest of the apartment… Almost.

Ran wasn't finding anything all that interesting in this house. After a couple failed attempts at finding the bathroom, and one introduction with a mop, there wasn't much left to nose around in. The books on the shelf were either too hard to read the titles of, or just didn't make much sense to the small girl. Despite growing up in a village where electricity wasn't all that common, Ran knew what a TV was. She had seen one in the fishing village next to her own, but she didn't want to risk turning it on since Kakashi was still sleeping in the other room. It seemed as though people didn't get up with the sun here.

She eventually found herself in the kitchenette, nosing around in refrigerator first. When she found nothing all that interesting in there, she moved onto the drawers under the counter. The first had normal eating utensils, but the second was full of pointy objects. Some were long with a handle while others were smaller and star-shaped. Luckily, she recognized them as knives and her mother had drilled into her mind that she should never touch knives without an adult present.

There wasn't anything all that interesting after the drawer full of pointy things, and Ran was about to pull over one of the chairs to look in the higher cabinets when she heard something snap. Suddenly, there was one of those long knives with the handle only an inch in front of her face and Kakashi having apparently just caught it. Ran stared up at her father; not really registering what had just happened.

"Well, that was close," he chuckled before tossing the knife onto the counter, "good thing I remembered one of the traps was still rigged, ne?" Kakashi played it off, but if he had remembered just a few seconds later, Ran would be sporting a kunai between the eyes. Now, _that_ would have been bad. The little girl who apparently didn't realize how much danger she had just been in, took a few steps away from him. Kakashi let out a sigh, _she's still uncomfortable around me._

"What's wrong with your eye?" Ran asked as she stared up at his uncovered left eye.

"It got hurt a long time ago."

"Oh. Does it hurt?" She asked, with all the tact a fiver-year-old possessed, having not stopped staring at it.

"Not anymore." Kakashi answered curtly, hoping it would give her the hint to stop asking about it.

Which she apparently got because she asked, "where are my clothes?"

He sighed at the change of subject and relaxed the shoulders he had unknowingly tensed. "They're on the roof and should be dry by now. Wait here while I get them, and try not to set off anymore traps, alright?" He gave her an eye smile as he slipped on his scandals and headed out the door.

…

Half an hour later, the pair was washed, watered, fed, and ready for the day. Kakashi supposed that he should see Tsunade at some point that day, but she wouldn't be in her office for several more hours. His team wouldn't be meeting up until noon and it was only six. Having nothing better to do, Kakashi lead them around the market that was just coming alive. He made sure to keep a close eye on Ran over his book as she wandered around the many stalls and shops. At some point she got a sweet bun from the old ladies at the bakery.

"What, didn't get me one?" Kakashi teased, but unfortunately Ran took him seriously. Looking down intently at the bun, she ripped it in half and held out the unbitten portion to him. "Ah… I was just teasing you, you can have it all…"

She stared down at the two halves of the bun and tried unsuccessfully to take a bite. It seemed like she would need both hands even for one half. The little girl tried to stick them back together, and it seemed to work, until she tried to take a bite. One half fell immediately to the ground and in her attempt to grab it, she dropped the second half. The was a moment of silence before Ran's legs gave out from under her and she was quickly on all fours in front of the remains of her poor dirt covered sweet bun.

Kakashi had a hand over his face as he watched the scene, and hoped to god those occasional trembles weren't an indicator of tears. Not really sure what to do, Kakashi reached a shaking hand towards the girl, hoping she wouldn't blame him for this. Despite the fact that it totally was all his fault. He could hear several old ladies whispering behind him, but one of them came to his rescue.

"There, there, no need to cry now. You can have another one," Ran instantly perked up as the woman handed her a new sweet bun. She wiped her damp eyes before taking a large bite. "That's a good girl," she praised as she patted Ran on the head. Kakashi was about to thank her for her help, but the old woman just smacked him in the knee with her cane as she walked past him. Kakashi was pretty sure he deserved it.

…

Trying to put the sweet bun incident behind them, the pair continued to wander around the market. More more stores were coming to life as the morning progressed on and there were many new things to see. Ran seemed to fall into line next to him after some time so he felt confindant in taking his eyes off of her for a few seconds while he looked for some things he needed. But when he turned to ask Ran what kind of toothpaste she wanted; she was gone. He had looked away for _one_ second and now she was gone.

"Ran?" Kakashi called as he glanced around the immediate area. He was forced to retrace his steps quite a bit before he finally found her. "There you are," Kakashi sighed in relief, "you can't just wander off without telling me."

Ran didn't seem to be listening as she stared at something the booth was selling. It was a small stand that generally sold cheap to intermediately priced jewelry and small trinkets. The little girl was apparently captivated by a hair clip with a some sort of frog character smiling with its tongue sticking out.

Kakashi sighed before saying, "I take it you like frogs?"

Ran jumped a little at his voice, she appeared to have not noticed his arrival, but looked up at him with sparkling eyes. "Uh-huh!" She nodded vigorously before turning back to the hair clip.

"How much?" Kakashi asked the vendor.

"5 ryo," the young man responded before he struggled to catch the coin Kakashi tossed at him.

"You're buying it… for me?" Ran asked, confused as Kakashi handed her the clip.

"I'm not buying it for myself."

"Thank you…" Ran said with a small smile as she clutched the clip close to her chest.

"You're welcome," he gave her an eye smile and a head pat, "but I'm afraid I don't know how to put that in your hair, so you'll probably have to ask Sakura to do it for you."

"Okay!"

* * *

"Ah! Kakashi-san, Ran-chan! I'm so glad I ran into you," Shizune exclaimed as she ran into the pair just outside the market. "Tsunade-sama wants to see the both of you."

"Already? I didn't think she would even be in her office for a couple more hours," Kakashi commented as he scratched the back of his head. "Did she say what she wanted us for?"

"Usually, yes, but she had an early meeting this morning. I'm afraid she didn't, but come along. Tsunade-sama is waiting for you!" Shizune exclaimed excitedly as she pushed poor Kakashi, with Ran following close behind, in the direction of the Hokage tower.

There were very few people around the tower when they arrived, and they only had to wait a few seconds before they were brought into the Hokage's office. "This is the second time in a row you've arrived on time, Kakashi, the world must be ending," Tsunade smirked over her hands. Tonton ran happily from Tsunade's side over to Shizune, begging to be picked up. Which the woman was more than happy to do. Ran stared at the piglet with wide amazed eyes and a slack jaw.

"You have a very diligent assistant, Tsunade-sama," Kakashi replied nervously as he scratched the back of his neck. Shizune smiled at him from behind her mentor.

"That she is, but that isn't what I called you here to talk about today. Shizune, please take Ran back to the waiting room."

"Of course, Tsunade-sama. Come on, Ran-chan, I can introduce you to Tonton there." Shizune hadn't let the little girl's apparent amazement at the pig slip past her. Ran looked genuinely excited to meet the little pig and quickly left the office with Shizune and Tonton.

Tsunade waited for a few moments before continuing, "I would like Ran to undergo a standard physical examination since she's going to be living here from now on. Just want to make sure everything is working the way it should be and that she is up to date on all her vaccinations." Tsunade held up her hand when it looked like Kakashi was about to object, "Shizune will be the preforming the examination, and she knows to be discreet about the situation."

"That… would be acceptable…" he agreed once he thought it over, "I would like to keep her off of Danzo-sama's radar for as long as possible."

"That's understandable. Lord knows how much trouble he has given the clans over the years; just don't expect him to stay in the dark for long."

"Of course, Tsunade-sama."

Out in the waiting area, Tonton was absolutely loving the attention Ran was giving her. The little pig was laying on her back as Ran ravished her belly with rubbs. Shizune laughed at the happy sounds the pig started making when the pink haired girl hit her favorite spot, and it wasn't long before Tonton became putty in her hands.

"Keep that up and you may just become her new favorite person!" Shizune laughed, but instantly sombered up when the office door opened.

"Looks like you made a friend," Kakashi commented after he glanced down at the nearly asleep pig. "Ran, you'll be going with Shizune-sama for a check-up. Don't give her too much trouble, alright?"

Ran nodded before turning back to Shizune, "can Tonton come too?"

"Of course, I'm going to need my assistant!" She responded as she tried to rouse said assistant, but she seemed to be dead to the world. "Oh well, if you'll follow me, Ran-chan."

"Oh, and Kakashi," Tsunade called sadistically from within the office, causing the jonin to flinch, "I believe you have a D-rank to attend to."

* * *

"Congratulations, Ran-chan, you are in perfect health!" Shizune announced as Tonton brought a jar of suckers over, "what flavor would you like? For being such a good patient."

"Watermelon, please."

"One watermelon coming up."

Ran popped the sucker into her mouth happily before she remembered something. "Ne, Shizune-nee-chan, can you put this in my hair for me?" She asked after digging the frog hair clip out of her pocket.

"Hmm? Oh, of course!" Shizune took the clip and easily clipped some of the girl's dense bangs off to the side. "Did Kakashi-san buy it for you?" Ran nodded her head once in confirmation, "that was nice of him. Let's go see if he's in the waiting room, ok?"

The pair, plus Tonton, did indeed find the jonin lounging in one of the chairs while reading his beloved smut.

"Was your D-rank successful, Kakashi-san?" Shizune asked as she tried to hide a smirk.

"Yes, yes it was. Everything good on your end?"

"Ran-chan is the picture of perfect health. You can get my report from Tsunade-sama tomorrow."

"That's good," he said as he stood and stretched. "We've still got some time before we have to meet the rest of the team. We should probably run some errands until then." Kakashi thanked Shizune before leading Ran out of the hospital and into the shopping district.

There first stop was a futon store where, after looking at several child-sized futons, Ran decided on one with cartoon ducks printed on the quilt. The salesman promised that it would be delivered by the end of the day, and the pair moved onto their next destination. Kakashi bought things like soap, toothpaste, kid-friendly shampoo, and other assorted items from a convenience store. The clerk recommended child vitamins, and wished him luck after purchasing them. _Odd…_ Kakashi thought as they exited the store.

"Kakashi-sensei?" A familiar voice called, "Where have you been? We were supposed to meet at nine!" Kakashi turned to face a rather miffed looking Naruto.

"We were? I thought we weren't meeting until noon." He said apparently unfazed. It was only twelve-thirty, not nearly late enough for them to come looking for him.

"NO! Why do you even set a schedule if you aren't even going to keep to it, dattebayo?!"

Ran tuned out as Naruto yelled at his clinically late sensei, and turned her attention to a far more interesting looking bug scurrying underfoot. Taking a quick look at the pair, she deemed they would be a while and wouldn't notice if she slipped away for a few seconds. The little girl followed steadily behind the fleeing bug, and upon closer inspection, she realized it was a species common to the Fire country but with different coloring than what she was used to. Most of the beetles back home were different shades of green, but this one had a solid red shell. Ran tried to catch it so she could ask Naruto about it, but seemingly sensing her intentions, the bug took flight.

"Wait! I promise to let you go right away! Please come back!" Ran exclaimed as she darted after the fleeing insect. Ran was fast but the beetle was faster, and it wasn't long before it flew out of sight. "Oh well…" she sighed as she started to head back to where she left Kakashi and Naruto, but something made her stop in her tracks.

She had just caught a wiff, but she definitely recognized that smell! Focusing on the smell and taking a few more sniffs and Ran realized that it was the tobacco the village leader would smoke in his pipe.

"Jii-chan!" Ran cried out and took off in the direction the smell was coming from. The smell slowly got stronger and stronger and it wasn't long before she was right behind the source of the smell. Ran wasted no time and promptly crashed into what she thought was Saito's backside, but if she had looked a little closer, she would have noticed a certain green flak jacket.

* * *

Asuma decided that he would treat his team to an early lunch after how hard they haf worked during morning practice. Even Shikamaru did more than he usually did. He puffed on one of his cigarettes as they made their way towards the BBQ place they frequented. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, birds were singing, Ino wasn't scolding either of her teammates, truly a perfect day. That is, until he was hit by a tiny missile.

"Oof!" Asuma exclaimed as the missile nearly knocked him over. Nearly. He was a ninja, after all. He was faced with a small head of thick pink hair when he twisted to look at just what was clinging to his backside.

"Jii-chan!" The missile, which was apparently a young child, cried.

"Asuma-sensei?" Ino yelped.

"Uh, kid, I think you have the wrong person," Asuma attempted to explain. The girl proceeded to look up at him and her eyes, eyes that he swore he recognized, grew in shock and then what looked like betrayal.

"B-but you smell just like him…!" She stuttered out as she unlatched from him, tears gathering in her eyes.

Asuma let out a sigh and scratched the back of his head before crouching down to her level and saying, "are you sure you haven't just gotten the scents mixed up?" It wasn't all that uncommon for young Inuzukas to get scents mixed up as they were still adjusting to their extraordinary sense of smell. The kid probably had some relation to them and had yet to memorize certain scents yet.

The girl sniffed him a few times before she managed to get out, "y-you really aren't Jii-chan…" Asuma let out a sigh as the situation seemed to be resolved, but then the kid let out an open-mouthed wail and broke down it tears. He flinched back at first due to the pitch she reached, but then he saw what resided in her mouth. Asuma felt his eyes widen in shock as he stared at two very prominent sets of canines that were visible to the world.

He _did_ know those eyes.

And those teeth.

Asuma remanded frozen in shock as he watched Ino and a nervous looking Choji try to comfort the child. He glanced up at Shikamaru to find him scowling in concentration before he seemed to come to the same conclusion. The jonin watched as his eyes widened in shock and jaw going slack.

Shikamaru looked down at Asuma, and it seemed that the older man's reaction was all the confirmation he needed. "So troublesome…" Shikamaru groaned as he wiped his face with his hand.

Ino sent him a nasty glare for his comment, apparently thinking he meant the girl, before turning back to the girl. "Hey now, there's no need to cry! Where are your parents?"

The girl ceased her tears momentarily to glance around the street, "I-I-I d-don't know," she managed to get out before she began crying with a new vigor.

"Do you think she's an Inuzuka kid?" Choji asked no one in particular, "it would explain her teeth and sense of smell."

"Have you ever seen an Inuzuka with any hair color than brown?" Ino snapped back at him.

"I suppose not… but how do you explain them then? The Inuzuka are the only ones with those traits."

"There is one more," Asuma groaned as he stood up.

"Real-"

Choji began, but was cut off by a cry of, "Ran!" From a certain loud-mouth ninja. "Ran, there you are! You shouldn't run off like that!" Naruto scolded before Ran collided with him and buried her tear-stricken face into his front.

"You know her, Naruto?" Choji asked.

"Yeah… 'though it's kinda a long story…"

"Naruto, did you find her?" Sakura called from the other end of the street.

"Yeah, I found her!" He called back.

"That's good," Kakashi said nonchalantly as he appeared in cloud of smoke beside the group. Sakura was quick to run up next to him, but was accosted by Ino.

"Forehead, you know this girl too?"

"Kakashi-sensei too?" Choji added.

"Yeah… but it's a long story…" Sakura explained vaguely, not meeting Ino's eyes.

"That's exactly what Naruto said! Ok, Forehead, what's going on here? Spill!"

"It's really not my place to say…"

While Ino was badgering Sakura for details, Kakashi turned to his fellow jonin and said, "sorry if she gave you any trouble." But sighed when he saw his expression. Asuma definitely looked shell shocked, but under that was layer of disappointment and even anger. "Is it really that obvious…?" Kakashi asked in defeat.

"All she has to do is open her mouth and anyone over the age of twenty-five will know. Hell, even Shikamaru figure it out."

That statement caught Ino's attention and she quickly rounded on her teammate, "what is it? What did you figure out, Shikamaru?"

"I'm surprised you didn't realize it, Ino," Shikamaru started, but paused to let out a yawn, "that kid is Kakashi-sensei's daughter."

* * *

A/N: Kakashi has always struck me as struck me as a "why are their shuriken in your utensil drawer?" "I think you mean, "why are there utensils in my shuriken drawer?'" Kind of guy. ALSO, this story has 34 favs, 54 watches, and 10 reviews at the time I'm posting this! That is absolutely amazing! I just want to take this time to thank all of you; THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH \ ; U ; /

Chapter References:

The exchange rate for the ryo used in the Narutoverse is 10 yen = 1 ryo so the hairclip would be 50 yen or around 0.50 USD.


	4. Lunch

The fallout from Shikamaru's reveal could be viewed as entertaining if you weren't Ino, Choji, Kakashi, Ran, or Sakura. Ino had first rounded on her best friend as to why she hadn't shared this information sooner. Ran was her second victim, and the older girl searched the poor child for similarities. Choji stared at Kakashi with his mouth agape while Asuma and Shikamaru watched from a ways back.

"I guess I kind of see it… but it's hard to tell when you hide most of your face, Kakashi-sensei!" Ino huffed after she had finished her search. "And Forehead! Don't think you're off the hook! I expect a full story later!" It seemed Choji had snapped out of his shock and promptly turned to Shikamaru to ask him how he was able to figure it out so quickly.

"There really isn't much more to tell," Sakura tried to calm her friend, "Ran only arrived here yesterday."

"Still, I want to hear everything you know!" Ino demanded as she poked Sakura in the chest.

Kakashi groaned internally as he listened to the girls' conversation. The whole village knew how much of a gossip Yamanaka Ino was, and if she knew, the whole village was going to know he had a child by tomorrow. Ninja were notorious gossips and the civilians were even worse, and Kakashi was certain they would their own speculations to the mix. It wouldn't be long before Ran was the illegitimate child of the Fire Daimyo's daughter that he had bedded on a top secret mission. He would just have to wait for a few weeks or so before they latched on to some new tall tail, and he had Ran would be forgotten.

"So, what exactly happened here?" Kakashi asked his fellow jonin over his book.

"Seemed as though she thought I was someone else," Asuma explained as he puffed on a new cigarette, "said I smelled like her jii-chan."

Kakashi groaned at that, he had really hoped her enhanced sense of smell would take longer to develop.

"You having a kid, huh? Seems like there's a story there," Asuma said as he elbowed him in the ribs slightly harder than was necessary.

"And you won't be getting it," Kakashi shot back. "This was nice, but I have a team practice to attend to. Naruto, Sakura, Ran, time to go." He started towards the training grounds without waiting for confirmation from the others. Naruto was quick to say his goodbyes before tugging Ran along behind him.

"Later, Pig!" Sakura called as she ran to catch up with the rest of her team.

"I expect to see you at my house tonight, Forehead!" Ino called back before turning to her team, "looks like I'll have to skip on lunch. I'll see you guys tomorrow!" And like that, the girl was gone.

"How long do you think until the whole village knows?" Choji asked Shikamaru.

"Knowing Ino, the end of the day."

"Man, Kakashi-sensei having a kid is pretty weird. Like if you had a kid, Asuma-sensei," Choji said around his chips.

"That would be pretty weird," Asuma laughed.

* * *

The group found Yamato and Sai waiting for them at their training ground. "Looks like you found them," the former commented.

"With no thanks to you!" Naruto yelled back.

"Someone had to be here incase they came here before you found them," Sai added, earning himself a glare from Naruto.

"Mah, mah, I'm here now," Kakashi started, but cut himself off when Ran tottered over to a tree and all but collapsed under its shade. He supposed it made sense that she would need a nap. She had been up since five and had been going pretty much non-stop since then.

"Moving on," Kakashi continued, "make sure all of your attacks are facing away from that tree, and don't do anything crazy. Naruto, spar with Sai; Sakura, Yamato."

"What about you, sensei?" Naruto asked.

"I'm going to keep an eye on Ran and make sure none of you accidently kill her," the jonin explained. His students seemed to contemplating whether to call him out on his excuse or not, but it was legitimate.

"You know, senpai, a training field really isn't a place for children…" Yamato sighed.

"I know, but where do you suggest she go?"

"A day care, maybe?" He suggested.

"I've even seen some that cater to active shinobi," Sakura added, "some of the kids in our academy class talked about staying at one during the day while their parents were busy with missions and training."

"You remember back that far, Sakura-chan?"

"Of course, you don't?"

"Not really…"

Sakura sighed as Kakashi butted in, "I'll think about it. Now, get to sparring. We don't have all day."

"We would have had more time if you showed up on time for once…" Naruto muttered as he turned to Sai.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

* * *

It was mid-afternoon by the time Ran woke. Kakashi had been lounging against the tree's trunk with _Icha Icha_ in hand while his teammates and students attempted to beat the shit out of one another. How Ran managed to sleep through that was beyond the jonin. The little girl let out a big yawn as she stretched and rubbed at her eyes. A few leaves had gotten stuck in her locks, and she set to work removing them as she looked around the clearing.

"Wha-" Ran choked out when she saw several dozen Naruto's fighting a handful of ink animals. On the other side of the field, Sakura punched through the wood clones Yamato kept sending her way. "Wha-whaaa?" Was the only noise she seemed to be able to get out of her hanging jaw.

"Don't worry, they're just training," Kakashi said as he turned to the next page in his book. Ran flinched slightly before quickly turning to look up at him with wide eyes. Seems she hadn't noticed him, but there were far more interesting things to look at he supposed.

"B-b-but there are like a million Naruto-nii's! And Sakura-nee-chan just punched _through_ Yamato! Who was made of wood! And-and-and there are real life paintings!" Ran exclaimed as she waved her hands around wildly.

"Those are all shinobi skills," Kakashi explained, "but I suppose those could be considered pretty unique skills."

Ran stared wide eyed as Sakura missed one of the clones and smashed a decent sized crater into the ground. "Can you do that?" She asked.

"Ehh, monstrous strength is more Tsunade-sama and Sakura's thing."

"So you can't?"  
"No, I can't."

"What about that?" She asked, pointing Yamato's wood-release.

"Nope."

"That?" Sai's animals.

"Not that either."

"Can you at least do that?" She asked while pointing at the Naruto clones.

"That I can do." Ran gave him a blank, almost disgruntled, look before turning back to the action. _Why does it feel like her opinion of me just fell?_ Kakashi wondered. "Hey, making physical copies of yourself isn't easy!"

"Naruto-nii and Yamato don't seem to be having any trouble with it," Ran muttered back, "being super strong or being able to make pictures real would be cooler. But I guess being able to make copies of yourself is alright…"

 _Was I just snubbed?!_ "I can do a lot more than that, you know."

"But you can't smash the ground into a million pieces, can you?"

"There's more to being a shinobi than being able to smash things."

"Like being able to make pictures real."

"Yes, like being able to make pictures real."

"Which you can't do."

Kakashi was about to respond, when he heard a few snickers. He turned to see the members of his team in various stages of laughter. The four of them must have stopped their sparring at some point during the argument, and Naruto was currently trying unsuccessfully to hide his snickers behind his hands. Sakura looked rather smug, Yamato was grinning, and Sai had donned his fake smile.

"One of my books said that fathers will often want to be seen in a 'cool' sort of light by their daughters, and will do more and more outrageous things in an attempt to earn that admiration if they do not currently have it. Is that what is going on right now?" Sai asked, and Kakashi was _this_ close to decking him into next week.

"Did you go out and read a bunch of parent-child relationship books last night?" Naruto asked his teammate suspiciously.

"It was only one, but it was rather informative."

"Figures, 'ttebayo."

Kakashi watched the scene while not necessarily fuming, more disgruntled than fumed. He was most certainly _not_ acting like a certain Yamanaka he knew. He didn't, and still doesn't, care what his genin/chuunin think of him. What some pipsqueak thought of his shinobi skills didn't matter at all. Not. At. All.

It wasn't the fight that was about to break out between Naruto and Sai, the latter had said something about an inability to conceive children due to a lack of hardwear, but sudden flare of chakra on the edge of Kakashi senses that snapped him out of his musings. It was a signature that Kakashi had made sure to memorize a very long time ago, and was ready to flee from at a moment's notice. Lest he be dragged into some ridiculous challenge. The current cause for worry though was the fact that the signature had halved the distance between them in the time it took Kakashi to identify it.

"KAKASSHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" A voice boomed ominously in the distance.

"Uh-oh," Naruto groaned, "incoming Bushier-Brows-sensei…"

"Damn, Ino works fast…" Sakura muttered to herself.

Several crashes could be heard from within the treeline that surrounded the training ground before an avid Gai broke through the foliage. "My Most Youthful Rival! I have heard a most concerning rumor about you!" He shouted as he ran up to a poor Kakashi and gripped him by the shoulders. "Although my source says this information is authentic, I can just not bring myself to believe it! There is just no way my Eternal Rival could have committed such a folly while engaged in a night of passion! To have fathered a child…!" Tears started to trail down Gai's face as he reached the pinnacle of his speech, and it wasn't long before he was shaking Kakashi dramatically by the shoulders.

Kakashi tried to cut in several times, but Gai was having none of it. There were several comments of "ewww" at 'night of passion', but those were ignored as well as Gai continued on.

"I think we should stay out of this one, 'ttebayo…" Naruto whispered to Sakura.

"Agreed." The girl replied, and the two slowly backed away from the scene.

The thing that made the seemingly rabid man cease his actions was the small child recoiled in terror and trying unsuccessfully to sneak away. Gai stopped mid-shake when his eyes fell on her, and just stared at the poor girl. Gai still hadn't moved by the time his students broke through the tree line a few moments later.

"Geez…! Gai-sensei…! Don't run off like that!" Tenten yelled at her teacher between gasps for air. The other members of her team, much to the girl's displeasure, seemed completely fine after their mad dash through half of the village.

"It really wasn't necessary to run off just because of a rumor," Neji grumbled, but in that dignified way all Hyuuga possesse.

"How can the two of you say such a thing?!" Lee cried, "to hear such a rumor! Of course Gai-sensei is going to find his dear rival as soon as possible in a true act of youthful camaraderie! Right, Gai-sensei? Gai-sensei…?" Lee and the rest of Team Gai finally noticed their sensei's frozen stance and shocked expression.

"You don't think…" Tenten started as she turned her attention to the short pink haired girl.

"That's impossible! Kakashi-sensei is the prime example of youthful asexuality!" Lee exclaimed.

"Oi." No one paid poor Kakashi's objection any mind.

"It may be possible, my youthful student…" Gai mummered as he released his poor rival and approached Ran. The little girl glanced around fearfully for backup, but found Naruto and Sakura on the other side of the training field and Yamato and Sai were nowhere to be found. Ran tried backing away from the strange, loud, green-clad, man, but he only increased his pace until she was within his grasp.

"Uhh… Ahh-!" The girl squeaked when Gai grabbed her shoulders and intently looked at her.

"You really are his child…" He breathed in disbelief and proceeded to fall back on his heels.

"EHH?!" Lee and Tenten shrieked while Neji looked shocked.

Lee and Tenten yelled several things, which were all ignored, as a shocked Neji stood off to the side. Gai made his way back over to Kakashi while his students continued to make unintelligible noises. The former stared seriously at his rival and life-time friend for several minutes before letting out a sigh. "This is quite the situation you have managed to get yourself into, Kakashi," Gai said, far more somber than usual.

"That it is…" Kakashi replied with a far off look.

"But fear not, my youthful rival!" Gai shouted, apparently back to his usual self, "for I will assist you with anything you need, or I will do 100,000 laps around the village on my hands!" The exuberant jonin gave one of his famous Nice Guy poses, tooth shine and all.

"I will assist as well!" Lee shouted before giving one of his own poses.

"I don't know if that will be necessary…" Kakashi attempted to placate the duo, but they were having none of it.

"No need to be so selfless, dear rival! We will happily give up our free time for anything you need!"

"Anything at all! Night or day! We will be there or we will do 100,000 laps around the village on our hands!"

"My Lee has grown so responsible!" Gai exclaimed with tears streaming down his face.

"Only because of your tutelage, Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!" The two let out a manly cry before embracing.

"We can't leave those two alone with that poor child," Tenten whispered to the only other sane member of Team Gai.

"Agreed," Neji muttered back.

"Ah, we'll help too, Kakashi-sensei," Tenten said before bringing her voice down to a whisper, "and keep the two of them in line."

"Thank you…!" Kakashi told them sincerely, seemingly on the verge of tears. The poor man was probably imagining the horrifying influence Gai and Lee could have on his poor child. Said child was currently being comforted by Naruto and Sakura after that terrifying encounter.

* * *

Kakashi managed to break free of Gai's clutches long enough to grab Ran and high-tail it out of there. There was only so long he could listen to Gai ramble on about youth before he snapped, and he still had errands to run. Yes, poor Ran needed… stuff. What kind of stuff, he wasn't sure. He'd pretty much been winging it, and it didn't seem as though that would change anytime soon.

The jonin made sure to keep a closer eye on the-prone-to-wandering-child as they made their way back into the heart of Konoha. Kakashi didn't another repeat of this morning. As to which incident the jonin was referring to was anyone's guess. Lucky for him, Ran stuck pretty close to her father as they made their way through the evening crowds.

"Now that I think about it, most stores would be closing right about now…" Kakashi realized a little too late. He looked down to find Ran giving him a blank look. "I'm sure a few are still open, come on."

An hour later, and Kakashi was about to kick himself, Gai, and several shop owners. They had been to five, _five,_ different stores and not one was open. "Guess you'll have to make do with the clothes you brought for another day," Kakashi sighed, "we'll get you some more tomorrow."

"I don't want new clothes…" Ran muttered.

"Why not? Don't girls love getting new clothes?" He asked, genuinely confused.

The little girl promptly clammed up and looked away from her father. Kakashi wasn't going to get an answer today. He let out a sigh as he rubbed the back of his head. "You're still going to need them, you can't wear the same thing everyday." Ran's cheeks puffed out a bit at that, but made no other objections. With that the two made their way back to Kakashi's apartment in silence.

The pair arrived to at least one thing going right. A large plastic wrapped package sat in front of his door. After entering, Kakashi made a clone and sent it off to their room with futon. "Go help my clone set it up while I get dinner started," he told the girl before he turned to the fridge. It would be easiest to just do some grilled fish with pickled vegetables, miso soup, and rice. Kicking the refrigerator door close, he set to work preparing their meal.

Kakashi felt his clone dissipate as he started setting the table and paused to go through its memories. Ran apparently poked and prodded it several times to make sure it was real, pestered it several times to see it was really him, and even went as far as to quiz it on the day's events.

"Ran, it's ready," Kakashi called.

The only response he got was what sounded like a stampede of tiny elephants in the other room. The little girl came barreling in and skidded to a stop in front of the table. Plopping down, she said her thanks so fast that Kakashi could barely make them out, and started to attack the food in front of her like a rabid animal. The jonin could only stare down in amazement and slight disgust as she inhaled the food.

"Slow down before you choke," he warned before sitting down himself.

"Can't… too hungry," Ran replied in between bites. She was clumsy with the far-too-big-for-her chopsticks and bowl, and it seemed every other bite ended up falling out of her grasp.

"You're getting food everywhere," Kakashi scolded, "slow. Down." There was a thinly veiled warning in his words, that Ran caught, and the little girl slowed down enough to actually chew her food. "You didn't act like this at any of your other meals, why now?"

Ran looked at him in surprise for a few seconds before saying, "we didn't eat lunch."

Kakashi blinked in surprise when he realized that they had indeed missed lunch. "Why didn't you say anything?" He could only think back to when he had joked to Tenzo about making sure you fed them three times a day. He had failed at probably the easiest part of being a parent. What a great father he was turning out to be.

"You were busy," Ran said around a clumsy bite.

Kakashi's head fell as he let out a sigh. How was he supposed to handle this situation? _Wait,_ it dawned on him, _when was the last time she had something to drink?_ The last time he could say for sure was the glass of water she had with her breakfast. Not like that was very filling either; just an orange. He sighed again as he stood up to get her a glass of water.

"Drink," Kakashi ordered, and waited until she had finished it to fill it a second time. "I want you tell me if you're hungry, or thirsty, or have to go to the bathroom. Even if I'm busy, I can send you off with a clone. Understood?"

Ran stared for a few seconds before nodding her head. "Then, can I have some more rice?" She asked, holding out her bowl.

"Sure."

* * *

A few hours later, all the dishes were clean, Ran was in bed, and there was nothing left for Kakashi to do. Lounging on a few cushions, the jonin flipped through his beloved _Icha Icha_. The summer night wasn't too hot, all was still and quiet, and he was at his favorite part of _Icha Icha Tactics._ Nothing could ruin this.

Except a knock at the door.

And the mood was smashed to pieces.

Kakashi made an exaggerated groan as he pulled himself to his feet and made his way to the door. Only to find Gai waiting outside. He tried to close the door, but Gai was too quick. Unfortunately.

"My Most Youthful Rival! Trying to shut the door in my face! I am truly wounded!" Gai cried, but Kakashi only redoubled his efforts in closing the door. "Waitwaitwaitwait! I brought sake!" Kakashi eased off the door enough for Gai to stick his arm through, along with the large bottle of sake.

"Alright, you can come in. But keep it down, Ran's asleep. At least, I hope she is."

"Yosh! Those in the early stages of their springtimes of youth need their rest!" Gai's whispers held the same amount of passion as his yelling. Kakashi sighed.

"So, why are you here? With alcohol no less?"

"Thought you could use some."

It wasn't as though that wasn't true, but that was a _lot_ of alcohol.

"It was the only one the store had left," Gai explained when he saw Kakashi staring at it, "don't worry, Kakashi! We won't be drinking all of it, you have a child to think of!"

Kakashi shook his head before grabbing two sake cups and heading over to the low table. Gai wasted no time in serving them before saying, "drink up, my friend." Kakashi only took a sip while Gai downed the whole glass in one go. "This is quite the situation you've got yourself into, Kakashi," he muttered as he refilled his glass.

"You're not the first person to say that," Kakashi replied dryly.

That shut Gai up, and the two drank in silence for sometime. Until the door to Kakashi's, and now Ran's, room creaked open. A sleepy Ran staggered out and blearily glanced at the two. Gai was up in a flash and before the girl knew what had happened, he was crouched down in front of her.

"What are you doing out of bed, most youthful flower?" Gai proclaimed.

Ran blinked at him a few times before saying, "gotta pee." Then proceeding to stumble into the bathroom. When she came out a few minutes later, she sniffed the air a few times before making a face. "Sake stinks," she grumbled before heading back to bed. Gai blinked a few times before turning to look expectantly at Kakashi.

Who let out a sigh and finished his drink before saying, "earlier today she tracked down what she thought to be her village leader just through scent. Certainly shocked Asuma when she nearly knocked him over with a hug."

"So her sense of smell is starting to develop then? But why Asuma?" Gai asked.

"Seems that way. They probably smoke the same brand. He had one lit when she tracked him down."

"So she tracked down the cigarette, not his actual scent. That's good at least."

"Let's hope."

* * *

A/N: Hey, sorry this chapter took so long to come out… I was on vacation and then there were the holidays. The next chapter will definately not take as long as one.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years, and that I'll see all of you in the new year!


	5. More Like You Than You Know

Kakashi thought back to the conversation he and Gai had as he lay in bed. After spotting Hitomi's picture, Gai asked a few questions about her, but didn't delve too far into the topic. Gai really did have more situational awareness than most people gave him credit for. It was the topic that came after that that he kept coming back to:

" _You know, Kakashi, Ran really is a lot like you," Gai commented as he took another drink._

" _How so?" Kakashi honestly doubted that._

" _Has she warmed up to you yet?"_

" _Not at all."_

" _There you go!" Gai exclaimed, "look at how long it takes for you to warm up to others. It took me years to get you to even talk to me!"_

" _It's only been two days, Gai. I'd be a bit worried if she was incredibly open and affectionate right away."_

" _Does she keep things from you?"_

" _What child doesn't?"_

" _No, I mean, if she's hungry or thirsty, does she tell you?" Gai hit the nail on the head with that one, and Kakashi couldn't help but wince at that. "She doesn't, does she? Certainly reminds me of a certain jounin I know. One who needs to be on death's door or collapsing from chakra exhaustion to even think of asking for help."_

 _Kakashi sighed before knocking back the contents of his cup before adding, "a dislike of doctors and not asking for lunch are two very different things."_

" _Well," Gai rubbed his chin in thought, "did she say why she didn't ask?"_

" _Said I was busy."_

" _Seems like she was worried to ask since she didn't know how you would react."_

" _Ran should know that I wasn't too busy to not feed her."_

" _Does she really, though? This world is very different from the one she's used to. Ran doesn't know what's too important to pause for a snack and what isn't. She also doesn't know how you would react to such a request. Would you be angry?"_

" _I wouldn't."_

" _She doesn't know that, though. She's only going on what you've shown her, and I'm guessing that isn't very much. Ran is only going to give you the same amount of trust you give her."_

Kakashi glanced over at sniffling girl, who was hiding underneath her quilt, as she tried to stifle her crying. He was starkly reminded of a younger version of himself; the one who tried desperately to wash blood that wasn't there off of his hands. Cursing Gai as he stifled a groan, Kakashi wondered he had to be insightful _now_ of all times. Kakashi crammed their conversation into the back of his mind as he tried to fall asleep, but Gai's parting words kept coming back to him:

" _Getting you to open up is like pulling teeth, Kakashi, and Ran isn't going to pick up the pliers."_

* * *

Ran woke as the sun broke over the horizon, waking Kakashi when she made her way out of the room. He heard the toilet flush and Ran making her way back to their room.

"Wash your hands," Kakashi scolded as she opened the door. There was the sound of shuffling feet, but Ran doubled back.

"Can't reach."

"Alright," he groaned as he sat up and lead her into the bathroom. Lifting the girl up, Ran made quick work of washing her hands. Kakashi found it strange that Ran needed help reaching the sink, he had never needed help when he was her age. He had just leapt up on the counter or stuck to surfaces with chakra. "How did you reach things back with your mother?"

Ran gave him bewildered look before saying, "I used a step-stool," like it was obvious.

The jounin supposed that made sense, and he added the item to the list of things he had to buy for the child. After washing her face, Kakashi sent the girl off to get dressed while he washed up in the bathroom. It wasn't long before the pair was ready for the day, with the exception of breakfast and teeth brushing. It wouldn't be long before those would be completed. It was the empty fruit bowl that brought the morning to a screeching halt. Kakashi usually just had a banana or an orange for breakfast, but it seemed he had given her the last one the day before.

"Rice," Ran broke him out of his small internal panic.

"What?"

"Can we have rice for breakfast?"

"Just rice?"

"Uh-huh."

"If that's what you want," Kakashi said as he loaded up the rice cooker. A few minutes later, they both had steaming bowls of rice, and Ran wasted no time clumsily tucking in.

"Did you use smaller chop sticks as well?" Kakashi asked after he had finished his own meal while Ran wasn't looking.

"Mm-hmm," the girl hummed her response. Another thing added to the list. Ran squinted up at him suspiciously when she saw that his food was already gone. Kakashi gave her one of his eye smiles in response.

"I have some things to take care of, so I'm going to leave you with a clone for a little while," Kakashi explained after everyone was fed, watered, and had their teeth brushed. A shadow clone popped into existence after his explanation, and the jounin set off to complete a D-rank. Hopefully, he would be done by the time the store started to open.

…

Kakashi was the only one at the mission's desk, besides the chuunin on duty, but it seemed the new missions had yet to come in. He was stuck with yesterday's leftovers, the jobs absolutely no one wanted. His options were: babysitting at the orphanage and cleaning up litter and painting over graffiti in Konoha's poorer districts. There was no way in hell Kakashi was going to babysit, so he picked up the needed supplies and headed out.

The mission took three and a half hours. _Three and a half!_ By the end of it Kakashi was ready to stab someone in the eye with his litter stick. He managed to avoid the early morning rush of gennin teams and their sensei, and reported the mission's success in record time. The walk back to his apartment was leisurely, but it wasn't long before before he was unlocking the door.

The clone dispersed with with a glare as soon as it saw him. Kakashi didn't understand, that is, until he looked through its memories. Seemed Ran had gotten a little stir crazy while he was gone. She had played with her stuffed animal for a while, but it wasn't long before she grew bored of that. The clone had sat her in front of the t.v., but then she started to get stir crazy. With no better options, it had her run around in circles until she tired herself out. Tire herself out, nearly throw up, same difference. It was when the t.v. didn't work a second time that the clone had her write out all the kanji she knew just to keep her from bugging it. The clone earned itself several glares as she set about her task. Once she had finished that, Ran thankfully went back to playing with Kero-chan in their room.

"Ran?" Kakashi called as he cracked open the door. The little girl was sitting cross legged on his bed with a picture frame in her hands, and another one in her lap. Upon closer inspection, Kakashi saw that it was his old team's photo in her hands.

"Who're they?" She asked, glancing up at him, and Kakashi was forced to squash down the immediate urge to rip the photo out of her hands. That sort of reaction certainly wouldn't fly over well with Ran, and she would become even more uneasy around him.

"They were my old team," Kakashi explained.

"Where'd they go?"

"They died, a long time ago."

"Oh…" Ran carefully handed him the photo before picking up the one of Team Seven. "Who's that?" She asked as she pointed to a certain scowling boy with black hair.

"That's Sasuke."

"Did he die too?"

Kakashi was startled by her blunt question, but quickly answered, "no, he left the village."

Ran stared at the picture for a little while before asking, "is he coming back?"

"I don't know," he sighed.

Ran looked at the picture for a little while longer before she handed it back to Kakashi and hopped off the bed. "Is it time to go shopping now?" She asked.

"Yeah, go put your shoes on," Ran darted out of the room, but Kakashi looked at the two photos for a few seconds longer. The sound of Ran's scandals clacking out the door forced him to put them back quickly and race after the girl.

* * *

The first stop the pair made was home goods store. There they were able to find a child's utensil and dishware set made with bright colors and fun patterns, and Ran found a mug with the same frog as her hair clip printed on the front. Kakashi thought it was just a coincidence, and added it to their basket, until they found several step-stools with the same frog on it.

"Do you know what that frog's from?" He asked Ran as she looked absolutely elated.

"Nuh-uh," Ran replied as she clutched the stool to her chest.

"Oh, Gekotan?" A saleswoman asked as she walked past. "Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help but overhear."

"Not at all," Kakashi reassured her.

"He has a name?!" Ran squawked.

"Yep! He's the main character from a popular kid's t.v. show. I think it airs every Saturday morning," the woman explained.

"What day is it?!" Ran demanded Kakashi.

"Friday."

Ran gasped before looking down at the step-stool excitedly.

"Sorry about her," Kakashi apologised to the poor woman.

"No worries," she laughed, "all my nieces and nephews love it. I think we have some more Gekotan themed items a bit further back."

"Really?!"

"I'll show you," the woman laughed again before leading the pair further into the store. The woman wasn't lying, there was an entire aisle dedicated to the frog and his companions. The mug Ran found must have been misplaced because there were dozens of others here. Kakashi spotted a familiar face amongst the crowd, the duckling that covered Ran's futon showed up _several_ times here. "I'll leave the two of you to it, then!" The woman said before making her leave.

They ended up with a second utensil and dishware set, this one Gekotan themed; a second mug, with a duck; and Gekotan themed bath towels. Kakashi couldn't help but wonder how long it would be before the little frog took over his apartment. He supposed it wouldn't be too terrible, since he managed to learn something about his daughter:

Kakashi didn't know much about Ran, but there was one thing he could say for sure. She _really_ loved frogs.

…

Their second stop was large clothing store. It had been a long time since Kakashi had last been to a civilian clothing store. Pretty much all he wore at this point was his uniform. He had already made it the children's section when he noticed that his tag along was no longer at his side. Letting out a sigh, Kakashi backtracked until he found Ran standing at the entrance.

"You still don't want new clothes?" He asked with a sigh, and Ran proceeded to look away. "Why don't you want new clothes?"

Still no answer.

"They may have some shirts with Gekotan on them," Kakashi prodded. She turned her head slightly at that, seemed to consider it for a few moments before giving in. "Good," he smiled before leading them back inside.

"See anything you like?" Kakashi asked as they stood in the children's section. Ran wasn't looking at him, or anything around her, opting to look at the floor. "What about this?" he asked, holding up a red t-shirt. She didn't even glance at him. "I'm going to just pick whatever if you don't say anything." Still no reaction. The jonin sighed before asking, "what's your size?"

"Size?" Ran finally responded.

"Yeah, your clothing size."

"Clothes have sizes?"

Kakashi groaned before crouching down to check the tag on her clothes. Only to not find one. "Where's your tag?"

"Why would my clothes have a tag?"

It almost seemed like she was purposely being difficult. "The manufacturer puts tags on their clothes to say the size, washing instructions, and other things."

"Well, Baa-chan didn't put tags on my clothes," Ran grumbled.

"Wait, your clothes are handmade?"

"Of course! Baa-chan makes all my clothes! She makes me new ones when I outgrow my old ones! So I don't need new ones, my old ones fit fine…"

Kakashi supposed it made sense. He doubted her village had a clothing store, but to have all of her clothes handmade… Did that mean he shouldn't wash them in the washing machine? "You don't have to get rid of your current clothes, you just need some other ones to wear while their being washed," he tried to explain.

His explanation seemed to help a bit, since Ran actually looked at the shirt, even if it was reluctantly. "Baa-chan says red clashes with my hair…" she muttered.

After several failed sizing attempts, the pair eventually picked out some clothes they were both satisfied with. A couple t-shirts of varying colors, a few with Gekotan on them, shorts, and a pair of overall shorts. The only skirt Ran ended up buying was an overall skirt, but Kakashi was just fine with that.

"Is that it?" Kakashi asked as he added the third set of pajamas to their basket.

"Undies."

"Oh. Right. You go find some for yourself then, I'll wait here."

Ran nodded before running off. Kakashi thought he was doing a pretty good job today, he was being patient and supportive, but picking out little girl underwear was just too much. The very thought made him immensely uncomfortable. Ran could, and would, manage that on her own.

It wasn't long before Ran made her way back. "I found some with Gekotan on them!" She exclaimed as she held up the pack to Kakashi. He just sighed and held out the basket for her to put them in before making his way over to the cash registers.

Children's clothing, as Kakashi discovered, were much cheaper than even regular civilian clothing. Just about everything a shinobi needed was expensive, especially clothing, and by their standards civilian clothes were dirt cheap. Children's clothes more so. He was honestly expecting to spend more at the cashier, but received a pleasant surprise for once.

The pair proceeded to make their way back to their apartment, with Kakashi lugging the bags. They weren't heavy, just large and cumbersome. When Ran suddenly stopped, Kakashi was rather proud of noticing right away for once. She sniffed the air a few times before saying, "smells like home…" The jounin quirked an eyebrow at that, but a quick glance around revealed the Yamanaka flower shop only a ways away.

The little girl walked over to the storefront and gazed somberly at it. "Mama had a lot of flowers… I wonder who's taking care of them now…" She murmured. Kakashi looked at her for a while before letting out a sigh and walking into the store.

"Oh, Kakashi-san," Yamanaka Inoichi greeted, "is there something you need?"

"Yes, what kind of flowers can you grow in an apartment?"

"An apartment? I'd usually suggested a few potted ones, or a flower box, but why-" Inoichi started, until he noticed the little pink haired girl peeking in the doorway. "Oh…! Ino wasn't lying then… Anyway, I think a flower box would be nice. Do you have any preferences?"

"Whatever won't die easily."

"We do have some petunia seedlings that you could put in a flower box. We can even set it up for you. All you would need to do is water them every day or so." Inoichi explained.

"Sounds good."

"Then it'll be ready in a few hours, you can pick it up then."

"Great," Kakashi said before leading Ran out of the shop.

* * *

Kakashi sat cross legged on the floor of his room while he emptied out the bottom drawer of his dresser. Ran was currently in the kitchen rinsing off her new dishes and utensils. Once the drawer was empty, and its contents added to the other drawers, he set to work removing the tags of Ran's new clothes and putting them inside.

"Ran," he called into the kitchen, "go wash your hands and we'll have lunch." There was a small thump before Ran darted into the bathroom with her step-stool raised above her head. Kakashi shook his head as he made his way into the kitchen and removed two bentos from the fridge that he had managed to remember to grab on the way back from his D-rank.

Ran darted out of the bathroom and held up her hands for Kakashi to inspect. Satisfied that they were clean, he motioned for her to sit down and start eating. She gave quiet thanks before digging in with her new Gekotan chopsticks. A good 90% of her food now managed to make it into her mouth, and Kakashi had to admit he was proud of himself for solving that problem. Now, how to eat without her seeing his face…

The opportunity presented itself when the little girl took a long drink from her mug, and Kakashi wasted no time in cramming half of his meal into his mouth. Ran did a double take when she set down her mug to find his cheeks bulging under his mask. She stared at him in disbelief, but all Kakashi did was just gave her one of his infuriating eye crinkles.

It was noon by the pair had wrapped up their meal and headed back onto the streets of Konoha. Kakashi wanted to get Ran setup with a daycare, but how he was supposed to go about that was beyond him. Maybe Sakura would remember the name of that daycare that supposedly catered to shinobi families.

Speaking of one of his students, Kakashi realized just how late he was for training. Hopefully they would have just started without him by now, but you never know… The jounin sent a clone off to inform them that he wouldn't be joining them today, and if Sakura had that name.

With nothing left to do now but wait, and he knew his clone was going to take its sweet time fulfilling its task, Kakashi decided to wander around the village. Ran tailing behind him loyally, at least, for the most part. She did get distracted ever so often by one thing or another.

"Ne, ne," Ran tried to get his attention with a tug on his sleeve. Something pretty big had caught her attention, "why is the lady from the office's face on the mountain?" She asked, pointing up at the Hokage Mountain.

"Hmm? You mean Tsunade-sama? Blonde hair, has a diamond on her forehead?" A head nod, "That's the Hokage Mountain, all of the Hokage's faces are on it, and since Tsunade-sama is the current Hokage, her's is on it as well."

"She's the Hokage?" Ran asked, shocked, "isn't the Hokage really important?"

"Very important."

"But she spent all that time yelling at you…!"

Ouch.

"I'm just that important," Kakashi tried to convince her, but Ran didn't seem to buy it.

"So the faces next to her are the previous Hokages, then?"

"Yep, the first through the fourth."

"The fourth looks kinda familiar…"

"Really now? You should let me know when you figure it out," Kakashi wasn't going to tell her directly, but if she managed to figure it out herself, he wasn't going to stop her. Ran had scrunched up her face in concentration when Kakashi received the memories from his clone. As it turned out, his team had eventually figured out that he wouldn't be joining them today and got started on their own. There still were several shouts from his students when his clone showed up, though.

Unfortunately, Sakura didn't remember the name of the daycare, but had said that someone in the Hokage Tower probably knew. Kakashi grabbed onto a still lost in concentration Ran by the back of her yukata and dragged her to the Hokage Tower. He was starting to figure out when he needed to keep an eye on her her in order to not lose her.

"Ah, Hatake-san, is there something I can do for you?" The chuunin at the front desk asked. His eyes widened briefly when he spotted Ran next to him, but quickly recovered his professionalism.

"I heard there was a daycare that catered to active shinobi," Kakashi started, pointedly ignoring the chuunin's glance, "do you have the name?"

"Y-yes! Just a second… It should be around here somewhere…" The chuunin muttered to himself as he dug through a couple stacks of paper on the desk. "Here it is," he said before handing Kakashi a colorful flier, "all the information should be there."

Kakashi nodded his head after he scanned the flier and turned to leave without so much as a 'thank-you'. Ran hurried after him as he read the flier more in depth. The daycare was run by a retired kunoichi who employed mostly civilians, but there were a couple shinobi in the reserves working as well. It catered specifically to active duty shinobi, offering a wider range of care hours, but they were unable to do overnight care and were closed on Sundays. It made sense because most shinobi below the rank of jounin took that day off. All Kakashi would need to do was enroll Ran and then he would be able to drop her off whenever he needed.

As the pair made their way to the daycare, there was a sudden tug on Kakashi's sleeve. "Yes?" He asked, glancing down to find a very excited Ran.

"There's a dog!" She all but bounced as she pointed to a very recognizable dog. A wolfish appearance and impressive size marked it as one of the Inuzuka dogs. Its one remaining ear twitched briefly, and the dog turned to look at them. Ran gasped a little when she noticed the eye patched, but other than that, she didn't seem all that intimidated by the fierce looking canine.

"If he's here…" Kakashi muttered as he nervously glanced around for dog's partner, but relaxed a little when he didn't spot her.

"Can I say hi to the dog? Can I? Can I?" Ran pleaded.

"Alright, just make sure you introduce yourself first," he said.

Ran nodded her head excitedly before making her way over to where Kuromaru sat. Kakashi assumed that Ran knew what he meant when he said, 'introduce yourself', but instead of holding out her hand for him to sniff, she took him literally.

"I'm Koizumi Ran," she said with a bow, and Kuromaru looked to be holding in a laugh. A certain partner wasn't so courteous.

Tsume gave a bark of a laugh as she appeared next next to Kakashi. "That's one hell of a brat you've got there, Kakashi!"

"Hope it's alright, I didn't know if Kuromaru would mind."

"Nah, don't worry about it. There hasn't been an Inuzuka dog who didn't loved kids," Tsume laughed as she slapped him on the back. Said dog gave Ran a sniff, that the girl returned, before offering his head for her to pet. The little girl seemed absolutely elated as she gently ran her hand over his course fur.

"A little lower if you would," Kuromaru commented, causing Ran to leap back in surprise.

"You can talk?!" She exclaimed, causing Tsume to laugh again.

"Most of our dog's can talk, kid," Tsume explained as she made her way over.

"Tsume," Kuromaru huffed with an eye roll.

"Are you his owner?" Ran asked, looking up at her.

"Ehh, more like partner."

"Partner?"

"We're together for life, on and off the battlefield," Kuromaru explained.

"You fight? That's super cool! You must be really strong," Ran gushed as she began petting him again.

"Looks like you've gotta dog lover on your hands, Kakashi," Tsume said as he made his over to the group.

"That should hopefully make things a little easier, at least," he sighed as he watched his daughter lavishing Kuromaru with pets. Kakashi now for sure knew two things about Ran: she loved dogs and frogs. But she hadn't opened up about those on her own, he only knew about them due to events outside his control. There was very little, if anything, Ran shared about herself on her own.

"Don't worry too much about it," Tsume said suddenly, seemingly knowing what he was thinking. "The kid'll warm up to you in her own time, just stick by her until then." Receiving parenting advice from Tsume was one of the last things Kakashi expected, but it wasn't necessarily unwelcome. "What? I have my moments," Tsume laughed when she saw his shocked face, giving him a toothy grin.

"I think we've left those old bats waiting long enough," Tsume laughed after a good few minutes of petting. "Let's go, Kuromaru." The dog sighed at his partner's antics before giving Ran a good-bye lick, and headed after Tsume. The little girl vigorously waved good-bye to Kuromaru, and the dog couldn't help a toothy grin. "See ya around, Kakashi!" The woman called before the pair disappeared from sight.

"We should probably head over to this place before it gets too late," Kakashi said as he glanced down at the flier for an address. Ran only nodded at his suggestion, and Kakashi was forced to hold in a sigh. She had wasted no time closing herself off from him.

Why couldn't Tsume have said how long this was supposed to take?

* * *

A/N: This chapter is a lot rougher than previous chapters, and I'm not super pleased with it. It almost feels like filler, but we learned more about Ran so I guess it isn't * ~ *. I had to get through these scenes before I could get to some of the more exciting stuff I have planned. So there's that to look forward to, I guess.

Something that really bugged me about the Naruto ending was how _old_ Akamaru seemed. Kuromaru is listed as being 30 in part two, but he's still in top shape. Akamaru couldn't have been much older than that in chapter 700, but he's shown as this elderly dog on his last legs. So, for this story at least, the Inuzuka dogs are going to be given a human lifespan. It's just too damn upsetting otherwise.


	6. A Bad Day That Got Worse

Signing up for a daycare was a much longer and more strenuous process than Kakashi had first thought. First they wanted to know if Ran had received all of her vaccines, and Kakashi was forced to go get Shizune's medical report just to find out. Thankfully she was up to date. Then they wanted proof of parentage, which was also in the file. Finally, there were dozens of forms to sign and a down payment to make. When they were done, Kakashi was very thankful that Tsunade had ordered that physical and that Shizune was so thorough. At least now he would be able to drop her off tomorrow morning.

Kakashi was ready to trudge back to their apartment and collapse onto its nice, comfortable floor, when Ran reminded him that they needed to pick up their flowers. He let out a groan before turning on his heel and leading them back to the Yamanaka flower shop. Inoichi had stood by his word, and flower box was all set for them. Kakashi sent Ran off to pick out a watering can while he payed for the flowers. She came back with a small orange can made out of plastic in the shape of an elephant.

Ran was put in charge of the watering can on their way back to their apartment while Kakashi carried the delicate flower box. He was so ready for the day to be done. A few good hours of relaxing with _Icha Icha_ before falling into his nice, soft bed. Yes, just a bit farther and the day would be done!

That is, until a stomach growl reminded him of his other responsibility.

"What're we having for dinner?" Ran asked with a tug on his sleeve.

Kakashi could have _sworn_ he had already fed her today. Why did kids have to eat multiple times a day? He really didn't feel like cooking anything, so he decided on the other option. "Looks like we'll be having bentos again," the jounin sighed, but Ran didn't seem too upset.

…

Dinner was a quiet affair. Kakashi again managed to eat his entire meal without allowing his daughter a peek at his face. Much to the child's growing irritation, but Ran was too tired to make much of a fuss. The jounin only gave her an hour at most before she conked out. After dinner, Ran helped Kakashi put their new flower box on one of the front facing windows. Now they would be greeted by flowers every time they left or came home.

"You'll be in charge of watering them every morning," he explained.

"Understood," Ran responded with a salute before plopping down on one of the cushions.

"Go put your pajamas on, Ran," Kakashi called as he cleaned up the little mess their meal had made. The little girl made a noise in confirmation before dragging herself to her feet and making her way to their room.

"AAHH!" Ran roared not ten seconds later, causing Kakashi to nearly drop the mug he was washing.

"What, what is it?" He cried as he ran into the room.

"The fourth face!" Ran proudly exclaimed as she stood in her frog pajamas, the ones Baa-chan made for her, as she pointed to the picture of Team Minato. "I knew it looked familiar! There he is, the fourth face!"

"Ah…" Kakashi breathed out in relief. Her shout had startled him more than he was willing to admit. One of the problems with children: you never knew if the screaming was due to them were having, or if they were being murdered. The jounin had nearly forgotten that he had inadvertently challenged her to figure out who the fourth face on the Hokage Monument was. Kakashi had honestly expected her to have forgotten about it by now.

"So if that's you in that picture with Naruto-nii and Sakura-nee-chan, and you're their teacher… and it's the same kind of picture with the fourth face-Hokage… that would mean… You were taught by a Hokage!" Ran turned to look up at him for confirmation, her eyes wide and seeking praise. Kakashi had seen that look more than once in his students.

"Looks like you figured it out," he praised her with a head pat and an eye smile. Ran gave him a small smile as she shuffled a bit under his praise. _Looks like she catches onto things quickly_. The jounin thought as he watched her.

Ran glanced back at the photo, and couldn't help wondering if it was a big deal to be trained by the Hokage. Naruto had told her that they were the strongest in the village, but there had to be lots of strong people in a shinobi village. Speaking of Naruto… "But, ya know…" Ran started as she stared at the picture. "He looks kinda familiar…" Maybe it was the hair? She wasn't entirely sure, but something about him felt _very_ familiar.

"AHH!" Kakashi frantically cut off her train of thought off, "time for bed! Yep, bedtime!" Before Ran even knew what was happening, she was sitting on her futon. the covers were pulled back and Kero-chan had somehow appeared in her hand.

She caught onto things _way_ too fast.

* * *

Sleep was nice. Sleeping in was even better. Kakashi hadn't been getting to do much of either since Ran moved in, the the last thing he was expecting was for her to get up even earlier. Earlier as in 4 am.

He was _this_ close to committing homicide.

"Gek-o-tan! Gek-o-tan! Gek-o-tan!" Ran chanted as she attempted to shake Kakashi awake. He just groaned and rolled over. The little girl was not ready to give up yet, and only redoubled her efforts. "Gek-o-tan! Gek-o-tan! Gek-o-tan!"

Kakashi groaned again before he rolled back over to look at her, "you know, he's probably not going to be on for a few more hours."

"But you don't for sure know that!" Ran pressed.

"No kid's show would be on at 4 am, go back to sleep." Ran made a noise, but did as she was told.

"What about now?" She asked an hour later.

"Still not going to be on!"

"Now?" Six.

"No!"

"Wha-"

"No!"

This continued to happen every hour, on the hour, until nine o'clock.

"Now?" Ran whispered as she peaked over the edge of his bed.

"N-actually… it may be on now…"

Ran let out a big gasp before darting out of the room and turning on the tv. Kakashi followed at more subdued pace, letting out a yawn he stretched. His daughter sat in front of the t.v. seriously flipping through the channels. Bright colors and a catchy tune halted her search, and her face absolutely lit up when a certain frog appeared on screen. Ran quickly ran and got Kero-chan before settling in.

"Just in time," Kakashi sighed to himself as the opening finished and the show got started. He could imagine how upset Ran would be if she missed it, and she would no doubt blame him. "Do you want rice again?" He called since Kakashi still hadn't found the chance to go grocery shopping. He supposed he do it while Ran was at daycare…

"Sure," she responded absently, totally enamored with the program.

The jounin couldn't help the chuckle that escaped as he watched her, but quickly set to work preparing breakfast. It was when Ran held a clump of rice in her chopsticks for a good five minutes, and by the time she tried to eat it it had already fallen, that Kakashi decided to make plain onigiri. The onigiri was a success, and the little girl managed to munch on them as she watched her show. A full hour was dedicated to Gekotan and his adventures, and by the time it was done, it was time for Ran to be dropped off.

"Go get dressed," Kakashi told her, but sighed when she came out wearing the same clothes that she had been wearing for the past couple of days. "You have to promise to wear your new clothes tomorrow if I let you wear those today." There couldn't be too much harm in letting her wear them another day. It wasn't like they were excessively dirty, or smelled. Just to be safe, Kakashi sprayed her twice with air freshener.

"I promise," Ran smiled before the strong smell cause to make a face.

"It'll fade," Kakashi reassured her, before he slipped on his scandals and opened the door.

"Wait! Before we go… can you put my hair clip in?" she asked as she held out her Gekotan hairclip.

"I can try," he said nervously, and he really did try his best. His best just wasn't enough. The clip sat awkwardly on a lock and looked like it was going to fall out any second, but Ran seemed content with it. The daycare people would probably be able to fix it.

…

Kakashi expected the front of the daycare to be overrun by children, but was surprised when they found it disserted. The inside was a very different story, though. A small welcome desk with an attached gate was all that held back a small army of children from the entranceway. A young frazzled looking woman was behind the desk, and she nearly let out a groan when she saw that Kakashi had brought another one.

"Welcome," she quickly corrected herself, giving them a strained smile.

"Ah, I'd like to drop her off," Kakashi explained a tad nervously.

"Then please sign in here," her smile becoming even more strained. "Kasumi! There's another one here!"

Another young woman appeared behind her coworker looking significantly less frazzled. "Hello," she greeted, "I don't think I've seen you guys before, is this your first time here?"

"Yeah…"

"Well you have nothing to worry about! We'll take care of her until you're able to come get her later. Just sign in over there," Kasumi gestured to the front desk.

Kakashi filled in the necessary information, until he got to the part where he was supposed to fill in when he expected to pick her up. "What if I don't know exactly when I'll be back?"

"You can leave that blank if you need to. As long as you're here before we close at 8:30." The other woman explained as Kasumi spoke with Ran.

"That's fair," Kakashi said before turning to face his daughter, "I'll be going now, be good."

Ran didn't seem very comforted by his trademark eye crinkle, and looked up at him anxiously. One of her hands clutched the hem of her yukata with a white knuckle grip while the other held tightly onto his shirt sleeve. She gave him a pained expression before looking away and kicking at the floor. Kakashi stared down at her in confusion. Was she upset about something?

"I have to get going," he urged, trying to remove her hand, but she only held on tighter.

"You have to let go, Ran-chan," Kasumi crouched down and placed her hand over Ran's. "I know it's scary, but you'll be alright. You'll be having so much fun you won't even realize he's gone!"

The little girl looked from Kasumi back to Kakashi. There was a brief stabbing pain in his chest when she looked up at him with one of the strongest kicked puppy expressions he had ever seen. Ran looked down as she released his sleeve and clutched the hem of her yukata.

Kasumi rubbed the girl's back as Kakashi gave a final wave before heading off, feeling slightly guilty. That feeling only doubled when he heard Ran ask, "he's coming back, right?" Too many people had left the girl for her to trust that he really was going to come back for her, and that this daycare wasn't going to become her new home. Kakashi sighed and resolved to pick her up as soon as he was able, but he needed to visit the Memorial Stone before anything else. It had been too long since he was last there, and Kakashi found he was able to sort through his thoughts best there. Rin and Sensei would probably like to hear about the kid as well.

* * *

After his trip to the Memorial Stone, Kakashi completed his assigned D-rank, had a productive training session with his team, and managed to pick up some groceries. It was early evening by the time Kakashi started to head over to the Ran's daycare. He took his time getting there, strolling through the streets of Konoha as he read one of his dirty novels.

"Oh, Kakashi-san," a chuunin greeted him as he entered the daycare. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, it has…" The chuunin apparently knew him, but for the life of him, Kakashi couldn't remember who he was. Hopefully he would be able to play it cool and the poor guy wouldn't realize that he had no idea who he was. They were probably on a mission together at some point, but Kakashi had been on hundreds of those. Was he _really_ expected to remember everyone he was ever put on a team with? That was a good quarter of the village, at the very least.

"You here to pick someone up?" The chuunin asked, but Kakashi was saved from having to answer by a toddler barreling into the man.

"Tou-chan!" The little boy cried.

"Hey there, kiddo," the chuunin picked up his son before turning back to Kakashi, "well, I'll see you around, Kakashi-san."

 _Safe!_ He thought as he gave the man a wave and called, "see ya."

"So how was your day?" Kakashi heard the chuunin asking his son as they made their way out of the daycare.

"There was a new girl! She was pretty weird, though," the boy replied eagerly, "she didn't talk! And just sat reading all day!"

 _Uh oh…_ Kakashi thought as he focused a little harder on their conversation.

"Maybe she was just shy?"

"No! When Rin-chan tried talking to her, she just stared at her all weird until she went away!"

Kakashi was unable to hear the chuunin's response to his son's story, but he was willing to bet money that the weird girl was Ran. "Um, excuse me," he called to the lady at the front desk. She was a different woman from earlier, and hadn't seemed to notice him.

"Hmm? Oh! I'm so sorry!" The woman apologised profusely, "What can I do for you?"

"I'm here to pick up Koizumi Ran," he explained.

"Harumi!" The woman called back into the daycare, "Ran's father's here to pick her up!" There was a loud thump before the rapid thumping of footsteps could be heard. Kakashi caught a flash of pink before Ran jumped up and hauled her upper body over the ledge of the childproof gate. "Ran-chan!" The woman yelled in surprise and anger, before turning on her co-worker for not catching the child earlier earlier.

"Yo," Kakashi greeted her.

"You came back…?" Ran breathed in disbelief. She stared at him in amazement… disbelief…? He wasn't sure which it was, but she didn't break eye contact with him until the daycare workers removed her from the top of the gate. The little girl wasted no time running through the now open gate and up to Kakashi. She didn't barrel into him, like how the child had from earlier had, but she did stand closer to him than normal. Her small hand clutching tight to his shirt sleeve as she slipped her sandals on.

"Thanks," Kakashi said to the workers with a lazy salute.

"Come back anytime," one of them called chipperly as the pair made their way out of the building.

* * *

Sunday was nice relaxing day. Kakashi had given his team the day off, and actually got to sleep in slightly later than usual. The sun had fully risen by the time Ran woke. If that had to with how long she had spent crying the night before, Kakashi made no mention of it. At first he was worried he was going to have to figure out how to keep the little girl entertained for the day, but then she made a request. She wanted to start working on her writing again, and Kakashi was more than happy to oblige. She wouldn't make requests of people she wasn't comfortable around, right?

A quick trip to a bookstore, and they had everything they needed. Ran wasted no time and set right to work learning new characters. Kakashi had asked her several times if there was anything else she wanted to, but the little girl was content with her studies. And it wasn't like the jounin was going to turn down an opportunity to spend the day relaxing. Before either of them knew what had happened, it was late and time for Ran to head off to bed.

The next morning, Kakashi managed to get her into some of her new clothes again, and dropped her off at daycare after breakfast. The jounin was able happy with how their relationship was progressing. Ran was beginning to talk to him without any prodding, she was letting him learn new things about her (she hated bananas, as he found out that morning), and she was willing to ask for things from him. Sure he still sprayed her with air freshener instead of baths, but it was a start.

Kakashi assumed it wouldn't take too long before Ran really started to trust him. That is, until he somehow managed to undo all the progress he had made.

* * *

It all started with his D-rank. Kakashi could have sworn more people were whispering behind his back at the mission's office, but he paid them no more mind than he usually did. Then, everything that could go wrong with the mission itself did. He was stuck strapping filth off of himself as he made his way back to his apartment for a quick shower before practice. It was already early afternoon by the time he made it to his team, and needless to say they weren't pleased with him. Then, of course, Naruto had to go and show off and end up hurting his ankle because Kakashi had told him he wasn't ready for that yet. But nooooooo, The Great Uzumaki Naruto doesn't have to listen to his teachers, they obviously don't know as much as he does. That was how they ended up spending the remainder of their time watching Sakura treat a crying Naruto's messed up ankle.

By the time Kakashi made his way to pick up Ran, the sun was already setting. He had promised that he would pick her up in the early afternoon, but hopefully she would understand. He could always promise her something she liked if she were upset. With his thoughts preoccupied with what he could promise Ran, Kakashi hadn't realized he was at the daycare until he was opening the front door.

 _Strange…_ The jounin has he heard nothing. The previous times he had been here the daycare had been filled with noise. There were kids laughing, crying, screaming, and everything in between. Footfalls from both the children and the workers could be heard throughout the building. There wasn't even the whisper of picture book pages turning.

"Oh, Kakashi-san!" one of the workers, Kasumi, exclaimed as she poked her head out into the entryway. "We've been trying to reach you for a while."

"Did something happen?" Kakashi said, slightly worried.

"Yes and no… There was an electrical outage, some genin apparently knocked out a power line a ways up, so we had to send the kids home early. Everyone's left, Ran is only one still here." Kasumi explained.

"Oh, sorry that you had to stay with her…"

"It was no trouble, but there is something else you should know…"

"What is it?"

"Something happened today, there was a fight, and Ran was involved."

* * *

Ran sat with her knees to her chest underneath one of the lower hanging parts of the jungle gym. Tear tracks had long ago dried on her cheeks. The crunching of sandals caught her attention, and the little girl was forced to squish down the relief and happiness she felt when she recognized the person's scent. She _was not_ happy that Kakashi had finally come to get her.

"I heard you got in a fight," Kakashi said as he crouched down next to her. He didn't fit very well, and was forced to bend himself into an awkward position in order to sit next to her.

Ran flinched and then shuffled around until her back was facing him.

"Kasumi-sensei didn't tell me how it started, but she said you threw the first punch."

"He deserved it!" Ran exclaimed, still not looking at him.

"Why? Did he say something mean?"

Ran curled into a tighter ball and didn't say anything.

"Did he make fun of you?" A twitch from Ran told him yes. "Was it about your hair? Your teeth?" Nothing. Kakashi didn't want to play 20 questions, but it didn't seem like Ran was going to open up on her own. "Was it about your clothes?" That one didn't make much sense, but you never knew with kids these days. "Uhhh, your shoes…? I'm running out of things here, Ran."

She said something, but it was too quiet for him to hear.

"You're going to need to say it a little louder."

"It was about you and Mama!" Ran screamed, turning to face Kakashi. His eye widened when he saw her split lip, the bruise forming at the corner of her mouth, and a rapidly blackening eye. Part of her shirt collar was torn from where someone had pulled too hard on it. "He called me a mission baby and said that mission babies are never wanted!" She cried, "and that you didn't care at all about me! That you were only keeping me because the council wanted another you!" She curled back into a ball and sobbed into her knees.

Kakashi stared at his daughter in shock. Just where had this kid heard all of that? Could he have overheard his parents talking? Sure kids could be cruel, but this seemed to be a bit much, even by schoolyard bully standards. No wonder Ran threw the first punch, very food kids probably wouldn't. If she started it, and she looked that beat up, Kakashi figured the other kid must look even worse. "Ran…" Kakashi tried to sound comforting as he brought a hand to her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" She screeched before darting out from under the jungle gym. The setting sun shined on her hair, making it look as though it were on fire. "He said you killed your teammate!" Kakashi's blood ran cold at that, "And that I was next!" She squeezed her eyes shut as more tears leaked out of them as she trembled. Whether it was in anger or fear, Kakashi couldn't tell.

"Ran…" He desperately tried again.

"No! I hate this place! I hate you! You're a murderer! You should have died instead of Mama!" Ran screamed at him "I-I wish… I wish that-" her voice broke before she was able to finish. With one last look at him, Kakashi watched his daughter run away from the playground, through the open gate, and onto the streets of Konoha. Unable to stop her.


	7. The Origins of Sharingan no Kakashi

"What is it this time?" Tsunade groaned as she poured herself a cup of sake. Alcohol was a necessity when it came to dealing with Kakashi. How her sensei had managed the man without it, she would never know.

"One of your shinobi is sharing information that they shouldn't be with their children," the bite in Kakashi's words was unmistakable. He had come to the Hokage's office once he had gotten the necessary names out of the daycare worker.

"That's a serious accusation, Kakashi, I'm going to need a little more information," the Hokage massaged her temples. _Why is it always you, Kakashi…?_ She thought.

"Ueda Daisuke's son, Kouta, apparently knows I killed one of my teammates."

"That's not good, but I'm going to need even more context now."

"Ueda Kouta was bullying Ran at their daycare, and in her words said that 'I killed my teammate and that she was next.' What worries me is where he learned that."

Tsunade let out an exaggerated sigh, "I take it there was more than that?"

"Not important. The rest of what he said could have been picked up from anyone in the village. While most of what happened to my teammates isn't classified, not many people know about it."

"Still, we don't know whether he was referring to Rin or Obito. You and I both know there were more than enough rumors floating around about how you got your eye." Kakashi still didn't look comforted, "fine, fine. If it bugs you that much, I'll look into it."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama."

She paused before continuing, "I take it Ran didn't take that all too well?"

"Beat the kid to a pulp."

"Atta girl."

"Shattered whatever trust she had in me, though."

"Ouch. Good luck with that."

"Thanks."

"I don't appreciate your sarcasm."

* * *

No one paid any mind to the small child walking through the now dark streets of Konoha all by herself. Anyone who did notice the crying child opted to do nothing, it wasn't like it was any of their business anyway. The lack of attention was quite the shock to Ran. You couldn't walk five feet in her village without someone at least saying hi. A crying child would have drawn out at least half the village to see what was wrong, but not here.

"I hate this place," Ran muttered to herself as she rubbed at her eyes. "I want to go back with Jii-chan…" She kicked at a pebble before continuing on her way. She had no idea where she was or where she was going, but Ran wasn't too worried about that right now.

"Oof!" The little girl exclaimed as she ran into someone. Staggering back, she risked a glance up at the person. With an arm resting in his robe, and the other holding onto a cane, the elderly man looked down at Ran with a look she couldn't quite place. It reminded her of how Baa-chan would look at her cat when it would bring her a dead mouse.

"I don't know what it was like where you were before, but here it is customary to apologize after running into someone, child," the old man spoke. His voice held no warmth or contempt, but Ran still wanted to shiver as he stared down at her expectantly.

"S-sorry…" She managed to get out. Her apology only caused the man's only visible eye to narrow and his face twist into an unpleasant expression. Ran wasn't sure if it was disgust, contempt, or anger. It may have even been a mix of all of them.

"I see the Hatake brat has indeed had a bastard child," the man sneered. Said bastard child bristled at the comment. Ran didn't know what 'bastard' ment, but the old man made it sound like an insult.

"Danzo-sama," a new voice called out, and Ran turned to find the last person she wanted to see right now. "Is there something you need with my daughter?" Kakashi stepped between the councilman and his young child. His voice may have held no disrespect, but there was a warning in his words.

"Watch yourself, Hatake," Danzo glared at the younger man. "There are many eyes watching you now that certain… failures have come to light. Tsunade-hime may have been merciful with you, but do not think the rest of us to be so kind. Despite your reputation, you are not as untouchable as you think," Danzo's voice was laced with a sneer, "I remember Sakumo having the same beliefs, and I am sure you remember how that turned out." Kakashi's eye narrowed, but Donzo only smiled. With one last glance at Ran, the councilman turned and walked away, his cane clacking against the stone of the street.

Kakashi bowed to the man's retreating back and waited until he was out of hearing range to turn back to his daughter. "If you ever see that man again," he explained as he crouched down to her level, "you aren't to speak to him and I want to run away as fast as you can." Kakashi didn't think Danzo would try something, but didn't want to take any chances when the leader of ROOT was involved.

Ran looked away and puffed out her cheeks slightly, but she did nod her head once.

 _Silent treatment?_ He wondered before standing back up, "well, we should probably head back now." Ran followed after him, but at the distance she used when they first met, close enough to not get lost but too far away for him to reach her. A pained look briefly passed over his face before he buried it in his book.

Just how was he supposed to fix this?

* * *

"I should take a look at those scrapes," Kakashi suggested as they entered his apartment. Being a jounin, he owned an extensive first aid kit, not like most of it would be needed for a schoolyard fight. With the kit and a wet washcloth in hand, Kakashi reached down to lift Ran up onto the counter for easier access to her cuts and bruises. Only, the little girl flinched away from his touch.

Kakashi would be lying if he said he hadn't felt a slight stab in his heart from the action, but he quickly squashed it down. "Get you get up on your own?" He asked. Ran nodded before running to get her stepstool. With its assistance, she was able to climb onto the kitchen counter with ease.

The jounin made quick work of cleaning her scapes and wiping off the dirt that had stuck to her during the fight. "This is going to sting a bit," he warned before disinfecting her banged up knees and what looked like nail scratches on her face. Ran only twitched slightly when the treated cotton ball came in contact.

As he started applying band-aids, Kakashi wondered if he should scold her for fighting. _They weren't sparring and had the intent to harm, but wouldn't it sound a bit hypocritical coming from me?_ He thought as he slapped a cooling compress onto her black eye. _She may even act out more because I scolded her!_ Did he want to make an even bigger rift between them? _I'll just ignore it for now_ ,Kakashi decided.

Dad of the Year right there. Now all he had to was address the elephant in the room…

… Tomorrow.

It wasn't like he was avoiding something he didn't want to face, no, Kakashi just needed some time to think of a plan of action. Yes, a plan of action.

* * *

Ran hadn't spoken to him since she had blown up at him. That was two days ago. Kakashi never had created a plan of action and was hoping that Ran would work through it on her own.

That probably did more harm than good.

Every night, Ran would spend progressively more and more time crying. During the day, she looked anxious and stressed out, and wasn't eating much. The daycare workers had told him that she was isolating herself off from the other children since the fight. The last thing she had spoken at the daycare was a question to Kasumi-sensei about what a 'bastard child' was. The woman had suggested that Ran ask her father, but that only made her more upset. When Kakashi tried to broach the subject with her, Ran only darted into their room and hid under her futon.

Kakashi was at his wit's end, and he had no idea how to fix this.

…

"Sensei!" Naruto's voice broke through the fog of his thoughts.

"Huh? What is it?" Kakashi asked, glancing up the page that he had been staring at for the past ten or so minutes.

"Finally! I've been calling you for forever! What's up with you lately? You're even more spacey than usual," Naruto grumbled. Sakura and Tenzo were standing behind him, both looking varying degrees of concerned. Sai stood a little ways back, not looking much of anything.

"You do seem to be more preoccupied than usual, senpai," Tenzo added.

"Does it," Sakura started, "have something to do with Ran?"

"Oh yeah, we haven't seen the kid pretty much since she got here. How's she doing?"

Kakashi wondered why those two had to be so intuitive when it came to others. Letting out a sigh, he guessed any professional distance he had maintained with them was thrown out the window once he introduced them to Ran. Despite that, Kakashi wasn't exactly jumping to share his parental problems with them. Especially since that would probably mean explaining just why she was so upset with him… and that was one conversation he _really_ didn't want to have. Ever.

"Ran…" he paused to figure out how to phrase it, "learned about some of the… not so pretty aspects of being a shinobi…"

Naruto's face became pained, "that we sometimes have to kill people?"

"There was a bit more than that, but yeah…"

The boy's expression flicked briefly before he nodded. Sakura looked thoughtful while she figured out what to say. "She's probably scared and confused. You need to talk to her and explain."

 _Scared,_ Kakashi thought. It certainly would explain a lot of Ran's behavior. She was scared of him, and probably feeling as though he didn't care about her at all. It wasn't like he had gone out of his way to refute the claim that mission babies were never wanted or loved.

He had really messed up this time.

"Hatake-san?" A non-descript chuunin asked as he landed in the training field.

"Yes?"

"Tsunade-sama wishes to see you."

"A mission?" Naruto asked excitedly looking up at his teacher hopefully.

"She said it was about a matter you had asked her to look into."

"Ah, that," Kakashi nodded. Now he would know just how much he would have to beat up Ueda Daisuke. "I'll see you guys later," the jounin said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. The chuunin sighed before following suit.

"A matter?" Naruto asked his teammate.

"And one that Tsunade-shishou personally looked into," Sakura added.

"Sounds juicy, dattebayo."

* * *

"I heard you found out where the Ueda kid got the information," Kakashi commented as he entered the Hokage's office.

"Yeah," Tsunade sighed, "Said his son had told him about Ran and had overheard him talking with his wife about it when they thought he was asleep. The teammate comment was apparently about your eye, and the kid added the 'you're next' after Ran beat the shit out of him. Now Ueda is pissed at you, his kid, and me. I hope you're happy, Kakashi."

"Yes, thank you, Tsunade-sama," the jounin said sincerely with a bow. Tsunade just snorted before waving him out of her office.

…

"Ran, I want to talk to you," Kakashi said after dinner. The little girl glanced up nervously from her kanji practice. She started to fidget anxiously before nodding slightly. "About what happened at daycare the other day." The girl nearly curled in on herself when he said that. "I'm not mad about what happened… I just wanted to clear up any… misunderstandings…"

Ran looked away, almost pained, but didn't say anything.

He had hoped that Ran would have given him someplace to start, and because of that, Kakashi hadn't bothered to think any farther ahead. Now he was stuck kicking himself.

"I get it," Ran eventually said while Kakashi tried to figure out where to start. Her voice was so quiet he nearly missed it, but Kakashi didn't miss the pain underlying her words. "You don't want me…"

"N-no! That's not it," Kakashi tried to correct her, but it seemed as though he had messed up _again_. He really wasn't any good at things like this. Ran didn't look as though she believed him. _If only Naruto or Sakura were here… They're better at these things_ , Kakashi thought as he ran a hand through his hair. _Wait…_ There was someone. Glancing back at Ran, who was trying her best to not look heartbroken, the jounin quickly made his way into their bedroom. There he bit his thumb and went through the necessary hand seals.

"Yo," a small pug greeted as the smoke from his summoning cleared.

"I need you to do me a favor," Kakashi requested.

…

Ran sat at the low table with her legs drawn up to her chest while she tried not to think about what was going to happen to her now. _He wouldn't really kill me, would he…? Kouta seemed pretty sure… but he was also mad that I had beaten him… But… if he had killed a teammate… No, I'd probably just go back to Jii-chan and everyone else in the village… Because I'm a mission baby and those are never wanted…_ Her thoughts were broken when something plopped down next to her. It was too small to be Kakashi and it certainly didn't smell like him. Glancing next to her, the little girl found a small pug at her side.

"Yo," Pakkun greeted as he scratched at his ear.

"You can talk too?" Ran really didn't have it in her to be surprised anymore.

"Usually I get a bigger reaction than that, but yes."

Ran nodded before petting him lightly on the head, still looking straight ahead. "How come I've never seen you before?"

"Kakashi summons me whenever he needs me. Which happens to be a lot."

The little girl nodded before retracting her hand. "So what does he need you for right now?"

"The poor guy has the emotional range of a dish sponge, and is even worse at explaining things. I'm here to clear a few things up," Pakkun explained. Ran didn't say anything, and curled into a tighter ball. "Kakashi still owes me several explanations, but he told me that you're a mission baby." Another nod. "You shouldn't focus too much on that fact."

"But mission babies are never wanted…"

"Yeah, but they're more of surprises. Surprises aren't all that fun at first, but then you usually end up enjoying them. You were quite the surprise, one that Kakashi certainly wasn't expecting, but I'd say he's getting to point where he's enjoying the surprise."

Ran remained quiet throughout the dog's explanation and didn't make any effort to uncurl herself. Letting out a sigh, Pakkun managed to wiggle his way in between the little girl's chest and legs. "Listen," he started, "Kakashi is an idiot, there is no denying that, but I really do believe he's starting to care about you. Don't listen to what those lil' shits at your daycare say."

"But he never denied any of it…" Ran sniffled as a few tears fell onto the summon's head.

"Again, he's an idiot," Pakkun reassured her as he licked away her salty tears. "Can't say for sure what he was thinking, but you can try asking him." The dog nodded his head to the jounin who was crouched down a few feet away from the pair. He gave the girl a small wave and eye crinkle.

"What… what about your teammate…? You never said you didn't kill whoever it was… or-or that…" Ran's voice broke before lowering to whisper, "that I wasn't next…" Kakashi's smile faltered and Pakkun let out a low growl.

Wiggling his way out of Ran's grasp, the dog walked up to his master, and proceeded to bite him on the hand. "Idiot!" Pakkun barked, "you don't need to explain everything, just reassure the poor kid that you would never hurt her!" Letting out a huff, Pakkun returned to Ran's side, all the while muttering something along the lines of, "an even bigger idiot than I thought…"

Kakashi stared down at his hand in shock. Pakkun had never bitten him before. Just _how_ badly had he messed up for one of his loyalest dogs to bite him? He was going to have to do something pretty drastic to get her trust back. Getting to his feet, Kakashi went and got the photo of Team Minato. "I don't know if this will make things alright…" he started as he sat across from Ran. Pakkun glared at him from his spot on the girl's lap. "But I'll tell you something not even Naruto or Sakura know…" He handed her the photo before continuing, "The story of how I lost my eye and ended up getting my teammate and best friend killed…"

* * *

A/N: So, this chapter was a bitch to write (part of why there are so many page breaks). I wanted to keep everyone as in character as I could, but Ran needed reassurances that Kakashi just isn't the kind of person to give. He seems more like the kind of person who lets people work out their own problems. Just look at Part 1 and the drama with Sasuke. Kakashi didn't intervene, at least from what I remember, until Sasuke was already way past the tipping point. Despite that, he's learned from his mistakes, but doesn't know just how to address the problems. Pakkun understands this is and stretches the truth here and there. A child isn't going to understand the complexity of the situation, all she's going to get is that she wasn't and possibly isn't wanted.

I hope that makes sense.

ALSO! We've broken 200 followers and 150 favorites! That's fucking amazing and way beyond my wildest dreams ; U ; Thank you all so much for your support and wonderful feedback!

For shits and giggles, have some alternative chapter names:

-You Don' Goofed

-Kakashi Screams Internally More Than Usual

-He's Not Dad of the Year, He's Not Even Ranked

-You Can't Just Go Throwing People Out of Windows Just Because They Talked Shit About You

-Pakkun Finally Makes His Long Awaited Appearance

-Pakkun, Registered Family Counselor


	8. Why Genma Wasn't Seen For Several Days

Ran was quiet when Kakashi finished his story. Not that it was a long one. He had shared just enough to get the message across. It was too much to ask for him to share the entire story. Still, the young girl appeared thoughtful as she stared down at the team photo, her other hand absently stroking Pakkun's head.

"Ok," was all Ran said after several minutes of silence.

"Ok what?"

"Just… ok," the little girl repeated herself before pushing to her feet. "I'm going to bed now," she said as she handed Kakashi the picture. Pakkun followed her, leaving the jounin by himself in the living area.

"So, what'cha think?" the pug asked as Ran changed into her pajamas.

"I don't know… it's confusing…"

"Kakashi hasn't lost anyone on a mission since Obito," Pakkun explained. Rin didn't count to him. She betrayed Kakashi by forcing him to kill her. "He would, and does, sacrifice himself before letting a comrade die. And I'm pretty sure he'd cut his own arm off before turning it on you."

"Why should I believe you?" Ran asked.

"You don't have to, but you should still give Kakashi another chance."

The little girl worried her stuffed animal between her hands before getting comfortable on her futon. "Maybe…" Pakkun gave her an encouraging head butt before curling up next to her and resting his head on her chest.

"Good pup."

* * *

Ran seemed to be doing better the next morning. She didn't seem to be nearly as anxious as she was the previous night, but there was definitely still some lingering distrust. _Pakkun must have convinced her,_ Kakashi thought. He really owed the dog as many belly rubs as he wanted.

"Onigiri again?" Kakashi asked as he loaded the rice cooker.

"Uh-huh, and milk."

Peering into the refrigerator, "looks like we're out," Kakashi commented as he closed the door.

Ran let out an indignant cry, "but milk!"

"I could go get some real quick, I guess… Will you be alright by yourself?"

"Completely fine!" Ran chirped, she really wanted that milk. Back when her mother was alive, Ran would have a glass of milk with her breakfast every morning. It just didn't feel right not to have the beverage with her morning meal.

"Alright," Kakashi relented, "don't let anyone in the apartment, even if it's someone you know."

"Even Naruto-nii?"

"Especially Naruto."

…

Shiranui Genma was tired. Long missions tended to do that to people. Now all he wanted to do was collapse into bed and sleep for the next few days. That is, until he made his way past his neighbor's apartment.

 _Since when did Kakashi like flowers?_ He wondered as he backed up to the to the window sill. Genma may be tired, but he was never too tired to give Kakashi shit. It was one of the few joys in life.

"Now that's just lazy," the jounin muttered to himself as he made his way into the apartment through the open window. "Must be getting lax in his old age," not that he should be talking, they were the same age after all. A quick scan with his chakra revealed that the masked jounin currently wasn't home, but Genma did pick up a small signature in the other room. He just assumed it was one of Kakashi's dogs and proceeded to make himself at home at the kitchen table. Genma even made sure that he kicked off his sandals before leaning back in his chair and kicking his feet onto the table. He was courteous like that.

The sound of tapping feet brought his attention to the other presence in the house. Kakashi's dogs rarely gave a shit, and Genma seriously doubted this would be one of the times they did. Hell, Pakkun would probably even join him.

A loud creak came from the door to Kakashi's room, and Genma raised his hand in greeting to what he honestly thought was going to be dog.

That is, until a little girl made her way out of the room.

Hand still stuck in the air, the jounin stared at the girl in shock. She froze like a deer in a bright light when she spotted him, going completely still and clutching what looked like an orange watering can to her chest.

3…

Neither breathed.

2…

Genma's senbon fell from his mouth in shock.

1…

"AAAAH!" The kid screamed, jolting Genma out of his shock. "AHHH!" She continued to scream before hurling the bright orange elephant shaped watering can at his head. Genma was a jounin, one of Konoha's elite, and a veteran of the Third Shinobi War. So if anyone asked him, he was _not_ hit in the head by an orange elephant shaped watering can that a _little girl_ threw at him. His masculinity couldn't take the hit. Just as he was losing his balance on his dangerously tipped back chair, player three entered the game.

The elite of the elite. The one who tore through enemy lines like they were butter. Whose lone red eye served as a window to hell. Chakra that made all but the most hardened shinobi tremble in fear. All before an arm was thrust through their chest and the crying of one thousand birds being the last thing they heard on this plane of existence.

Needless to say, there were very few shinobi left who didn't shit their pants when one of the strongest shinobi in Konoha burst through the window guns blazing. Genma was proud to say he was one of those few. Whether that fact could be debated or not due to fact that he was too busy falling backwards to manage defecate himself in fear, well, that was up for grabs.

"Oh," the air that promised certain agonizing death dissipated as though it had never been there, "it's you." Turning away from his friend, who was currently sprawled on the floor, Kakashi placed a carton of milk in the refrigerator, much to Genma's bewilderment.

Genma managed to get to feet and popped his signature senbon into his mouth. "You're gonna away for a long time for this, Kakashi," he mocked his fellow jounin, trying to play it off, but his strained expression gave him away.

"I didn't kidnap her!" Kakashi snapped back.

"Sure you didn't," Genma teased, and Kakashi had to remind himself that it wasn't a good idea to knock him on his ass while Ran was watching. He would just have to do it later. Maybe in a dark alley.

"Ran," the little girl popped her head out from where she hid behind Kakashi, "this is our very rude neighbor, Shiranui Genma. Genma, this is my _daughter_ , Ran, that I did not kidnap."

"I'm a mission baby," the girl added helpfully.

"That's really not something you should go telling people right when you meet them…"

"But Kasumi-sensei says that if I take pride in it, eventually people will stop saying it to be mean."

"Fair enough."

It was fair to say that poor Genma was more than a little shocked. The poor man's thoughts were stuck in a loop of, _I go on one mission,_ one _! And I come back to find out_ Hatake Kakashi _had become a father! Of all people!_ "I need to lie down…" The jounin muttered to himself as he gathered his sandals. Maybe after a few hours of sleep this would all make sense.

"Use the door this time," Kakashi warned, and Genma thought it best to actually listen to him for once.

* * *

Things were going pretty well in the Hatake-Koizumi household. Ran spent her days playing at the daycare while Kakashi completed missions and trained with his team. According to Kasumi-sensei, Ran was quite getting popular with the younger kids. She would often read them picture books outside of story time, voices and all. She still had her fair share of troubles with kids her own age, but Kakashi was relieved that she was getting along with at least some of the younger kids.

But a new problem had presented itself. It had been a while since Ran's last bath, and she was starting to smell. Not to mention the layer of dirt she was wearing as a second skin. It had gotten to the point where the daycare workers were starting to voice their concerns. Kakashi usually showered after she went to bed and crammed the inevitable into the back of his mind.

"Mama said the only boy allowed to see me naked is Jii-chan!" Ran squawked when he brought the problem up with her. She was just as against it as he was.

 _Now what?_

Well… there _was_ one person.

…

"Please!" Kakashi pleaded to his only female student with a low bow.

"W-what?" Sakura asked, slightly concerned.

"Ran needs a bath and refuses to let me give her one," he explained, still not raising from the bow.

"What? Oh, sure, fine. You could have just asked regularly, I would have said yes," Sakura said, unimpressed. When she answered her pounding door at 8 pm to find her sensei bowing lowly before her, Sakura had honestly expected him to ask something bigger of her. A kidney, part of her liver, a 'get out of the hospital free card'.

"Thank you," Kakashi genuinely thanked her. She could have sworn she saw tears in his eyes.

"Would you like to come in?" Sakura opened the door wider to let the pair in. Kakashi wasted no time making his way in with Ran trailing behind him. A tub filled with bathing necessities and clean pajamas held in her arms. "Sensei… did you come here expecting me to agree?" Her voice was strained and a vein popped out in her forehead. She turned to find that her teacher had wasted no time making himself at home. Kicked back in one of her kitchen chairs, book in hand, with a steaming cup of tea. Where he had gotten that was beyond her.

"I had a feeling you would say yes, but I thought it best to play it safe," he said with that infuriating eye crinkle. "And if you had refused, I would have given you a heart-wrenching tale of how I would have no other option but to toss her in the river." Sakura would have thrown him out then and there if it weren't for Ran.

"I've taken a bath in a river before," the girl piped in.

"We'll do that next time," Kakashi reassured her.

"Fine, fine," Sakura snapped at her sensei, "just stay there and don't touch anything!" Kakashi gave her a lazy salute as she lead Ran to bathroom. _At least she brought her own soap._ Sakura thought.

"Ran," the older girl started as the water continued to run brown, despite the fact that this was the little girl's second wash. "When was the last time you had a bath?"

"Not since the last one you gave me."

"Not since-! That was… 10 days ago!" Sakura squawked. "Why haven't you had a bath since then?"

"He hadn't asked until today," Ran said with a shrug. "He would just spray me with something that smelled nice. The bottle had a waterfall on it."

 _A waterfall?_ Sakura wondered before turning back to the matter at hand, "why didn't you ask for one then?"

"Mama said the only boy allowed to see me naked was Jii-chan," Ran explained like it was obvious. "And since Jii-chan isn't here, a girl has to give me a bath. And there aren't any girls at the apartment…"

"Alright, alright. That makes sense, but Kakashi-sensei is your father. He's allowed to see you naked. It's normal for families to take baths together," Sakura explained, regurgitating the words that were fed to her all those years ago.

"Do you still take baths with your parents then?"

"Ehhh, not some much any more, but I used to a lot when I was your age."

Ran remained quiet for the rest of their bath, and didn't say anything until Sakura lead her back to Kakashi. "Alright," she said as she slipped into her sandals, "you can see me naked."

Poor Kakashi did a double take before turning turning to Sakura, extremely confused.

"There was probably a better way to phrase that," the older girl muttered. "What she means is that you won't have to come to me again."

"Oh, well, I guess that's good… Thanks, really Sakura," Kakashi said, rubbing the back of his head. The girl just nodded before waving them out of her apartment. "You need to chose your words better," she heard her teacher scold his daughter as they made their way down the stairs.

Sakura shook her head and turned away from the door, when a sudden realization hit her. "He was spraying her with air freshener!"

* * *

The following morning was dedicated to Saturday morning cartoons, specifically, Gekotan's hour block. Ran was in a chipper mood afterward as she hummed the theme song while eating her onigiri.

"Why do you wear a mask?" Ran asked as they were finishing up their meal.

"All the cool ninja wear masks."

She had the audacity to snort.

"Fine, I get really bad hay fever."

"It's summer."

"I get it year 'round."

"Your eyes aren't red."

"Another perk of being a ninja. Only lousy ninja get red eyes."

Kakashi could see that Ran was getting increasingly frustrated with their back and forth, but it was just too much fun messing with her. Then she said the words, the words that set off the perfect chain of events.

"I wanna see what's under your mask." Jackpot.

"Hmm?" Kakashi hummed, but he was smirking internally. It had been so long since the last time he had gotten to do this. "You do now?"

"Yeah! I've lived with you for a while now, and I still don't know what you look like!" Ran huffed.

The jounin hummed again as he sat up straighter and snapped his book shut. It made sense that she wanted to see his face, and Kakashi wasn't going to deny her that, he just wanted to have his fun first. "Alright," Ran mimicked his posture. "I'll show you what's under this mask…" He could see her swallow heavily as she watched him with as much concentration as a five year old could muster. Slowly reaching up, Kakashi drew out the action of hooking a finger under his mask, causing Ran to lean closer in anticipation. "What's under this mask…" he drawled, Ran looking about ready to rip it down herself, "is… another mask!" Kakashi cheered as he revealed his second mask.

The expression of excitement and anticipation held out for several seconds before shifting to one so vacant that Kakashi was slightly worried. Pushing to her feet, Ran made her way into their room and came out with her backpack. "R-Ran…?" Kakashi questioned as the little girl stepped into her sandals. "What are you doing."

"I'm running away," was all she had to say, still wearing that eerily vacant expression.

"Wait, wait, I'll take the second one off," Kakashi assured her, but he chose his words carefully. Ran looked sceptical, but ultimately plopped back down across from him. Kakashi knew that it was probably going to be very mean, but he just couldn't help himself. An opportunity like this had never presented itself before.

Ran was trying to look angry, but couldn't manage to hide just how engrossed she was. Reaching up for a second time, Kakashi took his sweet time hooking a finger under his mask. Gotta build up the anticipation, and all that. Waiting until the little girl was about ready to burst, Kakashi pulled down his second mask to reveal that he had done a seal-less transformation to give him a third mask. "A third mask!" He cheered.

If only Ran found it as funny as he did.

"AHHH!" Ran cried as she flipped the low table. Kakashi's laughter was drowned out by her screaming. Being a jounin, an upturned table posed no threat, but a very frustrated backpack wielding five year old? It was a safe bet that Ran got in a few good hits.

"Alright! Alright!" Kakashi forfeited after he got the wind knocked out of him. "I'll show you!"

"For real this time?" Ran asked between huffs of air.

"Well…" He started, but quickly corrected himself when Ran lifted the backpack threateningly. "For real!"

The little girl let out a huff before seating herself in front of him with her arms crossed. She managed to contort her mouth into a perfect upside down 'U', and Kakashi was forced to admit he was actually a tad bit impressed. Not many people could manage such an expression. Releasing the jutsu, Ran's eyes grew wide as she leaned in to study him better. The jounin was getting a tad bit uncomfortable by just how intently she was staring at him, half expecting her to pull out a magnifying glass.

"You are a very pretty man." She finally said, leaning back with a satisfied nod.

"Thank… you?"

"Mama had good tastes."

Kakashi nearly choked at that, but quickly recovered from his coughing fit.

"Teeth," Ran demanded, wasting no time.

"Excuse me?"

"Show me your teeth! People keep saying we have the same teeth! So Show!"

"Fine, fine," Kakashi relented before opening wide for her to see. The little girl let out an excited noise when she saw his prominent canines.

"We match!" Ran cheered before opening her mouth wide as well.

"I can see that," Kakashi laughed before patting her on the head.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the wait for this chapter, I haven't exactly been in good health these past few weeks. It didn't help that I was having a lot of trouble with the bath scene. Japanese bathing customs are pretty different from most Western ones. It's pretty common for family members to bathe together in Japan, especially with young children. While here, once you're old enough to not drown, you're pretty much on your own. At least that's how it was for me.

Hope it didn't come off too weird.


	9. Eyes

"Ran, you have to tell us!" Naruto begged the little girl. Training was ending earlier than he had expected, so Kakashi decided to be a responsible adult for once. After sending Pakkun and Bull to pick her up, the little girl sat off to side and played with them until they wrapped up for the day. The sun was getting ready to set when they finished, and Ran wasted no time bragging to Naruto and Sakura that she now knew what Kakashi looked like, much to the pair's irritation.

"I do not see what the big deal is," Sai shrugged.

"You're pretty weird, so you wouldn't get it," Naruto huffed, "we've known Kakashi-sensei for _years_ and we still don't know what he looks like! So, please, Ran!"

"Stop harassing her," Sakura scolded. She was trying her best to the mature adult in this situation, but was failing to hide just how badly she wanted to know as well. It may have been years since Team Seven had last tried to see under their sensei's mask, but the longing was still there.

Ran seemed to enjoy basking in the attention. Puffing out her chest in satisfaction, the little girl proudly walked next to her father. Said father found his students desperation rather entertaining, and it wasn't like they were actually going to get anything out of her.

"Alright," Ran relented.

She wouldn't.

"Yes!" Naruto cheered while a wide smile broke out on Sakura's face.

Wait, no!

"He's very pretty," she managed to get out before Kakashi had the chance to stop her.

Traitor!

"Pretty?" The two wondered aloud. Two very different images came to them. Sakura imagined Sasuke's face under Kakashi's mask. While Naruto imagined the kind of man that was on those magazine covers girls loved so much. A strong jawline, sharp yet soft features, nice teeth, and a charming smile. Essentially, everything that Kakashi wasn't. It was little terrifying.

"What?" Naruto shuddered slightly at what his mind had conjured up.

"Yeah! And he has a mole right here!" Ran exclaimed while pointing the area of skin off to the side of the corner of her mouth.

"Does he now?" Sakura asked, her face falling in disappointment.

"He does!"

Naruto let out a sigh before Sakura continued, "it's not nice to lie, Ran."

"B-but!"

"I really thought we were going to find out this time, 'ttebayo…" Naruto grumbled to his teammate as they continued on their way.

"Maybe next time," Sakura comforted him.

Ran remained still as tried to figure out a way to make them believe. "B-but…!" She tried again, until she felt a hand on her head. Kakashi was smiling down at her comfortingly, but inside he was cheering, _safe!_

* * *

"Hey, look, it's Team Seven," Kiba noticed from atop Akamaru. "Wonder who that is with them." The members of Team Eight were waiting outside for their final teammate to meet them for a celebratory dinner. Their last mission had been a resounding success and Kurenai wanted to reward them.

"It is most likely a client. Why? Because this is a ninja village and their entire team is together," Shino informed his teammate.

"While Shino is usually right, that's not the case this time," Kurenai added.

"Huh? What do you mean, Kurenai-sensei?" Kiba asked, confused.

"You'll have to find out for yourselves."

Kibe was about to ask his teacher again, when Naruto called out to him. "Yo! What's up, Kiba? Oh, you too, Shino."

"Hey man, who's-" Kiba started to ask, but was cut off by the little girl with them.

"Dog!" The girl exclaimed before turning to Kakashi and pulling on his sleeve, "dogdogdog, there's a dog-mmph!" the kid was promptly cut off by Kakashi putting his hand on her face.

"Calm down," he ordered, and removed his hand once she had suitably calmed. "You mind?" The jounin asked Kiba.

"Huh? I guess not," Kiba said before hopping off his partner. The kid walked up and gave Akamaru a bow before gently reaching out a stroking his fur. It was a little awkward since the dog was actually taller than her.

"So," Kiba whispered while he elbowed Naruto in the side, "what's with the kid?"

"Huh? You haven't heard?"

"Heard what?"

"That Kakashi-sensei had a kid."

"WHAT?!" Kiba shrieked, causing those who were nearby to wince.

"My father did hear rumors-" Shino started, but was cut off by his teammate.

"You've got to be bullshitting me, right? Kakashi-sensei having a kid is just too weird!"

"I'm right here, you know," but no one paid poor Kakashi any mind.

"Did you know about this, Kurenai-sensei?" Kiba demanded.

"Asuma told me."

"Am I the last one to find out about this?!"

"It appears that way. Why? Because-"

"Not now, Shino."

Ran ignored all of the yelling and just focused on her new four legged friend. There was always a lot of yelling whenever people found out who she was. She didn't understand _why_ there was all of this yelling, just that there was. So, she just focused on the nice dog. He was a lot better than yelling anyday.

That is, until she smelled a very familiar scent. Turning from the dog, Ran followed her nose to a lady with one sleeve and bright red eyes. Another sniff, and the little girl was certain of it. The smell that was Jii-chan yet not.

"You smell like the guy who smells like Jii-chan."

The woman's cheeks turned a light pink. "Y-you can smell that?" Asuma had filled in her on what he referred to as the 'Jii-chan incident'.

"Uh-huh. Why do you smell like him?"

"That means Kakashi knew from the very beginning…!" The woman muttered to herself angrily.

"Why do you smell-?" Ran started to ask again, louder, but was cut off by Kakashi's hand over her mouth. Seemed like he finally realized what the pair was talking about. Too many problems would be caused by her asking that question a little too loudly. He shrunk back slightly when Kurenai glared at him before laughing nervously and rubbing the back of his head.

"It's impolite to ask others why they smell a certain way," he scolded the little girl. Who was struggling against him and making muffled noises from behind his hand. "Sorry about that," Kakashi apologised nervously before pushing the little girl back in the direction of Akamaru. Hopefully the dog would keep her occupied and out of trouble.

The dog worked. That is, until the final member of Team Ten showed up.

"Sorry I'm so late!" Hinata cried as she ran up to the group. "Oh! Why is everyone-Naruto-kun!" The girl turned bright red when she spotted a certain blond. She certainly hadn't been expecting to run into her crush this evening.

But Ran wasn't focusing on the older girl's apparent crush, or the fact of how red she was getting. Both items would have had her full attention, instead, she was focused on the girl's eyes.

White eyes.

Clouded over eyes.

A kind of eyes that she had seen before.

Breath hitching, Ran slowly backed away from Hinata.

"Oh, who's this?" Hinata asked, turning to Ran.

Ran slowly shook her head as those eyes were focused on her. She didn't want to be here. Tears sprung to her eyes and her breathing increased. "N-no…" The little girl managed to get out as she continued to back away. She could hear her blood pumping in her ears.

"Ran?" Someone asked, but she didn't know who.

"NO!" Ran screamed before pushing her way between Naruto and someone else. She didn't care that her foot caught on something and bent at a strange angle. All she knew is that she had to get away. Get away from those eyes.

And so she ran.

* * *

"Ran?" Kakashi called when he noticed the little girl's not so much panic, but what she was experiencing was pretty damn close. Sure, the Hyuuga eyes could be unsettling to those who had never seen them before, but this was pushing it.

"NO!" Ok, maybe this was a bit more than just a fear of the byakugan.

"Ran!" He called a second time when she shoved her way between Naruto and Kiba.

"You should go after her," Sakura said, "something obviously upset her."

"You're probably right…"

Trailing a few feet behind the little girl, Kakashi made sure that she didn't get into any trouble before she managed to calm down. Eventually, she tired and plopped down onto the ground with her back resting against the side of a bakery and wasted no time curling into a ball.

"So, you wanna tell me what that was about?" Kakashi asked once he sat down next to the girl. Ran only curled tighter and cried into her arms. "Later then. I can wait," he said as he pulled out _Icha Icha_ and flipped to random page. The setting sun provided more than enough light to read by, and Kakashi was expecting to here for a while.

The sun had long ago set when Ran sniffled for the last time and scrubbed at her face with her hands. Shakily getting to her feet, the girl let out a pained cry when her ankle collapsed under her weight. Luckily, Kakashi managed to catch her before she crashed to the ground.

"Looks like you twisted it," he commented after glancing glancing down at her swollen purple ankle.

"It didn't start hurting until now…" Ran murmured.

"Didn't really have a chance to notice it before now," she didn't say anything in response. Letting out a sigh, Kakashi crouched down in front of her, "climb on." Ran hesitated for a few moments before reluctantly climbing onto his back.

Neither said anything during the walk back to the apartment, but Kakashi was pretty sure she started and stopped crying at one point. "Looks like you twisted it pretty badly," he said again once they got home and he had a better chance to examine it. Her ankle had already swollen to twice its original size and was a mosaic of red, blue, and purple.

A quick summon later, Pakkun was sitting next to Ran while Kakashi got an ice pack. "You think you could go get Sakura?" He asked pug.

"Sure, but whether or not she's willing to come is up to her," everyone knew how Sakura felt about making house calls.

"Tell her it's Ran. She would never say no to an injured child."

"On it," Pakkun raised a paw in farewell before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

…

"What is it? How bad is it?!" A flustered Sakura cried as she barrelled through their door not five minutes later. Gasping for breath, Pakkun hanging off one of her shoulders while the other was occupied by a medic bag.

"It's rude to barge in without knocking first," Kakashi scolded blandly, but Sakura was paying him no mind. Frantically looking around the apartment, the older girl found Ran sitting at the low table with an ice pack on her ankle. He spoke up a second time before Sakura had a chance to ask, "it looks like a bad sprain."

"Eh…?" Blinking twice before her anger reached its boiling point, Sakura turned to Pakkun. "You said she was injured!" She yelled at him as she held him up by his scruff.

"You were running off before I could tell you everything…" the dog cringed away.

Sakura's eye twitched a few times before letting out an angered huff. She _had_ grabbed her bag and taken off as soon as Pakkun had said Ran was hurt. This may have been a tiny bit her fault. "Alright, I'll take a look," she relented before making her way over to the little girl.

Ran didn't even look up from her lap when Sakura sat down next to her. Kero-chan was tucked protectively under her arm. The older girl made a hissing noise when she lifted the ice pack from the little girl's ankle. "Yep, that's a bad sprain. Luckily for you I can this fixed up in no time!" She tried to cheer up Ran, but the girl only glanced up briefly. Ran winced when Sakura put her hands on her ankle, but that turned into a sound of wonder when the older girl's hands started to glow green.

"W-what?"

"Pretty cool huh?" Sakura smiled, "medical ninjutsu is pretty nifty."

"It kinda tickles…"

"It does, doesn't it?"

Ran turned to Kakashi and asked, "can you do this?"

"Medical ninjutsu isn't in my skills reportar."

"Can't do anything…" Ran muttered to herself, causing Sakura to have to stifle a snort. Kakashi narrowed his eye in warning.

"There we go," Sakura announced, trying to hide her shit eating grin, "all better!"

Ran hesitantly got her feet before giving a ankle a test hop. "It doesn't hurt anymore!" She exclaimed in wonder before plopping back down to get a closer look at her now healed ankle. "So cool!"

"Yes, yes, now that we have established how amazing Sakura is," Kakashi huffed, "you're free to go." Honestly, medical ninjutsu may be a massive asset on and off the battlefield, but insinuating that he was useless just because he couldn't make his hands glow green with chakra…!

"Alright, alright,"Sakura shouted as she slammed the front door. "And you're welcome!"

"Now that's taken care of, what do you want for dinner, Ran? … Ran?" Kakashi asked again, only to find the girl nodding off. "You were just jumping around…" Children certainly were a mystery. "Alright, come on. Time for bed," Kakashi tried to lift her to her feet by picking the girl up under her arms, but Ran just went limp. "You've gotta work with me here," he tried again, but she just crumpled to the floor a second time.

Letting out a sigh, Kakashi heaved his daughter into his arms before making his way into their room and helping her to change into her pajamas. Either Ran was beginning to really trust him or she was just that damn tired. It was more likely that she was that tired. Not that it mattered that much to Kakashi, he was just glad she wasn't crying or being frighteningly quiet anymore. Sakura's visit had seemed to have briefly cheered the kid up, but it was hard to say how long that would have lasted. With a final glance at the girl, Kakashi made his way to the kitchenette and made himself a quick dinner. A few hours, and several chapters of _Icha Icha_ , later the jounin was getting ready for bed himself. Kakashi couldn't remember a time when he had a more regular sleeping schedule than he did now. Ran was influencing him in more ways than one.

Screaming.

Before he was even fully awake, Kakashi was on his feet, sharingan open, and a kunai in hand. Very few things could wake a shinobi faster than screaming. A quick scan with his left eye revealed the source, and Kakashi relaxed slightly when he found it was only Ran. At the very least she wasn't being murdered. Not that apparent night terrors were much better. And now there was no way to slip back into their nightly routine now that he was obviously awake.

"Ran?" He called in what he truly hoped was a soothing voice. The last thing Kakashi wanted was to upset her even further. The little girl didn't respond, but she didn't start crying harder. At least a partial success. "Ran?" He tried again, crouching down next to her.

Kakashi was very rarely surprised, much less shocked. There were very few things left in the world that had the capability to make him so much as lift an eyebrow. But then Ran came barreling into his life, and now Kakashi was finding himself surprised over and over again. First, it was just her existence. Then it was just how much she looked like him. And then there were the things that would come out of her mouth. Now, it was how she was clinging to him for dear life as she cried into his chest. Ran didn't like it when he would stand too close to her, much less actually touch her. Sure, she didn't stand as far away as she used to, but this was a considerable leap.

It was fair to say Kakashi was incredibly out of his element and had no idea what to do.

"R-Ran?" He tried once again before awkwardly patting her back. "What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?" That was probably the wrong thing to ask, as it only made the girl cry harder. "I'll… take that as a yes…?"

"I-I-I… dreamed a-about M-M-Mama!" Ran managed to get out between sobs. Kakashi had figured that to be the case, but it was good that she had confirmed his assumptions.

"Uh-huh, and what about your mother?" He asked as he continued to rub her back in what he hoped was a soothing motion.

"H-her eyes!" Ran all but screamed before she started crying even harder. _Ok, maybe that was the wrong thing to ask…_ Kakashi thought to himself as he flinched back from her cries, but as Ran continued to cry, "her eyes, her eyes!" He was forced to wrack his mind for anything special about Hitomi's eyes. It was foggy at best, but there wasn't anything remarkable about the woman's eyes. A warm brown color that was common in the Fire Country was all that came to mind.

"What about her eyes?" Kakashi asked, and hoped it wouldn't make her even more upset.

"H-her eyes looked j-just like that girl's!"

 _Girl?_ "The girl from earlier? With long hair?" Ran nodded against his chest, and Kakashi wondered just how their eyes looked alike. _Hinata has the byakugan while Hitomi's were brown… They don't look anything alike... Unless… no…_

There was a reason why so many civilians and shinobi alike were unnerved by the Hyuuga's byakugan, and it went beyond the general discomfort they caused those who weren't used to them. It was more common in shinobi, but there were a few civilians who experienced it as well. Eyes that brought up memories best left buried, memories of those who had died.

The byakugan looked unnervingly like the clouded over eyes of the dead.

"I was sleeping with her…" Ran started, her voice barely above a whisper, occasionally broken by tears, "and-and when I woke up she was cold… and I couldn't move because she was hugging me so tight… but she was hard… It was like she was asleep… but her eyes were open… and-and…"

"You don't have to say anything more," Kakashi cut her off, but he could couldn't help wondering why this hadn't happened every night. Ran cried every night, but this was the first time she had woken up screaming. Had her mind conjured new horrors, or had she simply been forced to relive it? Either way it was cruel.

 _I'm sorry,_ Kakashi thought. Ran deserved a loving parent who actually knew what they were doing, not some emotionally stunted shinobi who wasn't anywhere close to being ready for a kid. Someone who could give her the emotional support and care she needed after a traumatic loss. What Ran really needed was her mother.

"Would you sing?" Ran asked in a small voice.

"Huh?"

"Mama would always sing to me when I had a bad dream. So will you sing?"

Kakashi wracked his brain, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember any lullabies. Clans often had unique lullabies that only they specifically knew, and he was about 95% sure the Hatake clan had one, but he couldn't remember it. It was more than likely that his own father had sung them, but it would have been over two decades since Kakashi had last heard it. "I don't know any lullabies…" That may have just been excuse though. He honestly didn't want to sing, never liked it and probably never will.

"It doesn't have to be, anything is good. Please…" But then Ran asked in such a broken voice and part of Kakashi's cold exterior cracked. Just this once.

Kakashi didn't listen to the radio, and he didn't know any children's songs. Not even Gekotan's opening theme. He had just half listened, letting it enter one ear and pass out the other. The only thing that was coming to him was a vague memory of a song he had learned during his brief stint in the academy. A mnemonic device to help the students to learn the different hand signs. Frantically dusting it off, Kakashi tried to remember the tune that went with the rhyme. "First there's the monkey," he started once he had a good idea of the entire song. Kakashi knew he wasn't the best singer to have graced the face of the Earth, but he was surprised when Ran had fallen back asleep before he had even gotten to the snake seal. Maybe Hitomi was on to something.

* * *

A/N: Lure you in with shits and giggles and then sucker punch you in the gut with ANGST.

One or two more chapters before we get into Shippuden's plot! Get pumped!


	10. Adventure Time

"So you need me to watch your pup," Pakkun reiterated as he scratched an itch.

"That's the jist of it," Kakashi confirmed. The sun had been up for several hours, but Ran had yet to wake from her deep sleep. It made sense going by how how upset she was the previous night, but Kakashi had a team practice to get to. He had already kept them stewing for the past three hours, so it was about time for him to show up. But today was Sunday and the daycare was closed, leaving the jounin with very few options. Luckily for him, Kakashi had a free babysitter who was just a few hand seals away.

"Fine, but I expect some really nice belly rubs when you get back!" The dog grudgingly agreed. It wasn't that he disliked the pup, in fact he rather fancied the girl, but Pakkun couldn't have Kakashi thinking he could just summon him anytime he needed someone to watch his pup. He was a busy dog, after all.

"Sure, sure," Kakashi assured his summon, "there's rice in the rice cooker. She should be able to get some herself for breakfast." He nodded to the dog before slipping into his sandals and heading out the door. Pakkun let out a huff before he settled down next to the little girl, keeping an ear open for when she woke, very little slipped past his ears, even when he was asleep.

As it turned out, Ran woke within the hour. Blearily blinking down at the small dog next to her, "Pakkun?" She asked, her voice hoarse.

"Yo," the dog greeted her. "Kakashi had training to get to so I'll be watching you today," he explained. The little girl just nodded her head before clumsily getting to her feet and making her way to the bathroom.

It didn't take long before Ran was dressed, fed, and ready for the day. "What now?" She asked her temporary guardian of a dog.

"What do you usually do?"

"Practice writing."

"Hop to it then."

Ran sat at the low table for a good hour and a half learning new characters before she started to get antsy. There was only so long a five year could sit still before she started to get stir crazy.

"Why don't you play with some toys? Pups love toys," Pakkun suggested from where he lounged next to the girl.

"Toys? You mean like Kero-chan?" She asked before grabbing the stuffed animal in a flash. The little girl adored her ironically named turtle. The two had been together for as long as Ran could remember. So the girl was more than happy to play with Kero-chan for the time being.

That is, until that became old as well.

"I'm bored," Ran complained before flopping onto her back next to Pakkun. The dog quirked an eyebrow as the girl rolled back in forth.

 _This isn't good_ , Pakkun thought. The signs were the same in human and dog pups, if they weren't stimulated enough, they started to get fidgety. The path from fidgety to completely-destroying-your-house-due-to-boredom was a short one, and should be prevented at all costs. "Why don't we take a walk," Pakkun suggested.

Ran instantly perked up, "can we go exploring?"

"Sure."

"Yay!" The little girl exclaimed in delight. Wasting no time, Ran darted out the door, anxiously awaiting Pakkun in the open entryway.

"Wait, don't you need those foot things?" Pakkun asked as he glanced down at her bare feet. What did humans call them again? Socks? No, that wasn't right… Foot covers? No... Shoes! That was it. Humans needed them to protect their inferior foot pads from the course earth.

Ran stared at the dog for a few moments, before saying, "you're not wearing shoes either." People here were really into wearing shoes, much to Ran's bewilderment.

"Fair enough." Couldn't fight with that logic.

The pair made their way down to the street, Pakkun letting Ran wonder about. He made sure to pay just enough attention to make sure she didn't accidentally kill herself. Pakkun wasn't going to stop her if she was about to do something stupid. The dog found that pups learned best through mistakes. Plus, it was always good for some laughs.

Unfortunately for Pakkun, Ran was too excited to be out and exploring her new village to experiment too much. The pair had already made their way out of the densely populated part of the village and into the more rural and wooded parts that lead to the training grounds before Ran even said anything."Look at this, Pakkun!" The little girl exclaimed as she triumphantly held up a stick in the vague shape of a sword. Normally, such a find would demand a _very_ realistic sword fight full of passion and over dramatic deaths. Unfortunately, Ran's current companion didn't have hands.

"It is a very nice stick," Pakkun agreed with a serious head nod.

Deciding on the other use of sticks, Ran shouted, "fetch!" Before throwing the stick with all of her might. Normally Pakkun would be insulted by the action, he was a highly trained ninja summon, not some civilian pet. But just after the stick left the girl's hand, it ricocheted off of a nearby tree and smacked her in the face.

"Ok, not going to do that again," Ran muttered as she held her face in her hands.

Yes, watching pups learn truly was a fantastic thing.

* * *

With some subtle herding, Pakkun managed to get Ran heading away from the training grounds. The dog was pretty sure that Kakashi wouldn't be happy if his spawn was fried by some overzealous genin who had just learned their first fire jutsu.

That would be pretty bad.

The kid didn't even notice that they were changing directions until they were nearly back in the heart of Konoha. But Pakkun quickly reassured her that they were just heading to another wooded area. One that wouldn't possibly kill her. Ran merely shrugged and let the dog lead the way, and it wasn't long before she was stopping every few feet to look at a bug or rock again. Pakkun was pretty sure it was the same bug, but Ran was adamant that they were in fact different.

"The one before only had two spots on its back. This one has three," the girl said seriously as she pointed to the bug's back.

"That's just a bit of dirt," Pakkun argued before swatting it off. The bug started to frantically scurry away, but Ran managed to snatch it before it managed to get away. "See? Third spot's gone now." The little girl examined the bug closely, but her face fell when she came to the same conclusion.

The next few hours progressed much in the same way. As they traveled farther into the many wooded areas that resided within Konoha's wall, Ran wasted no time spotting bugs and other animal life that made their homes in the forest.

Konoha had seemed so different from Ran's home when she first arrived. It was huge, buildings here were several stories tall and everywhere. The houses in her village looked nothing like these brightly colored and cramped buildings. And there were so many people. There was no way these people knew everyone like how they did back with her mother. But what saddened the little girl the most was the lack of forests. Streams, bugs, and all sorts of animals used to only be a few minutes away, but everything here was so cramped and crowded. There was simply no way it could have the forests Ran grew up playing in.

Konoha had seemed so different, so foreign to the girl, but the more she explored it, the more familiar it became. Instead of one big forest, Konoha had a bunch of little ones, and much of the same animals and bugs she grew up around lived here as well. Sure, everyone didn't know everyone, but they treated each other kindly. Ran still definitely prefered the village she was born in, but maybe living Konoha would be alright.

"What are you doing?" A deep voice asked. Ran nearly jumped out of her skin while Pakkun merely turned to look at the source of the voice. He had sensed the man earlier, and had deemed him to not be a threat. This wasn't his first encounter with the young man."I'll ask again, what are you doing?" The young man asked as he stepped out of the bushes surrounding the small clearing that Pakkun and Ran were currently in. Most of his face was obscured by a hood, a high collar, and dark sunglasses. Ran briefly wondered what was with these people and hiding their faces.

"Lookin' for bugs," Ran explained, holding up her most recent catch, a large Fire Beetle.

"You shouldn't be here. Why? Because this forest is owned by my family," the young man answered his own question.

"You can't own a forest," the little girl scoffed.

"Actually," Pakkun butt in, "you can."

"What? No way!"

"Yes way."

"But no one own the forests back home! They belonged to everyone!"

"Well-" the young man tried to start again, but he was cut off by the summon.

"They technically don't own the forest itself, just the land the forest is on. Kinda like owning a house."

"It-"

"Ooh, that makes some sense… Still, forests should be open to everyone!" Ran huffed, paying no attention to the poor young man they kept cutting off.

Pakkun shrugged, "it's one of those weird things you humans do. Isn't that right, Shino?" Not that dogs could talk. Pakkun's words brought the little girl's attention back to the third person in the clearing.

"Oh, you're still here," Ran said.

"Yes, that I am. As I was saying, the land, and the forests on said land, is owned by family. Only those given permission are allowed here. All I will ask of you today is that you leave. Why? Because you obviously didn't know that you were trespassing, due to your ignorance of this village."

"You talk funny," Ran said, squinting up at Shino.

Pakkun had to disguise his laugh as a cough, but Shino seemed unfazed by the little girl's words. "If you would follow me, then." He said before turning away from the pair. Ran sent Pakkun a confused look, but the dog just shrugged his shoulders.

Once Ran and Pakkun were out of the Aburame forests, Shino disappeared without a word. This wasn't the first time this had happened to Ran since she had arrived in Konoha, and at this point, it was barely affecting her anymore. _This place is weird…_ Ran thought as she glanced up at the sky. "Time to go back," she said when she saw that the blue of the sky was slowly being dyed orange and red.

"Alright," Pakkun nodded before turning in the direction of Kakashi's apartment. "But why now? We've still got some sunlight left, and I would've thought you would've wanted to take advantage of it."

"The sun's starting to set," Ran explained, slightly shocked Pakkun was even asking her this. "You have to head home when the sun sets, everyone knows that!"

"Of course."

* * *

Naruto was growing impatient. He hadn't been bugging Kakashi for training as much since Ran showed up, instead working with his teammates and Yamato while the pair adjusted to their new lives. But there was only so long he could wait before the anticipation of a jutsu that could help bring back Sasuke made the young man explode.

Kakashi was really starting to regret bringing the idea up in the first place. Naruto may be understanding, but he only had one setting - full speed ahead. It wasn't like Kakashi didn't know that he hadn't been the best teacher or team leader since he found out he had a daughter, but they would only be so understanding for so long. They were going to be expecting him to back to full speed soon, and he would have to be. What with rumors of movement from Akatsuki. Kakashi was going to have to figure something out, and soon.

"I'm ho-" Kakashi started as he unlocked the front door, but stopped when he found the apartment empty. Ran's sandals were still in the entryway, but it looked as though neither Pakkun nor Ran had been home in quiet a while. "Ehh, they're probably fine," Kakashi said to himself; he wasn't worried. Pakkun had probably just taken the girl on a walk to get her energy out, and there was no way the dog would allow any serious harm to come to Ran. Seating himself at the low table, Kakashi moved Ran's kanji work to the side and pulled out _Icha Icha_ , intending to read until the pair returned.

He just wasn't expecting to be waiting for a good hour and a half before he felt two familiar chakra signatures making their way across the landing. "I dunno, pup," Kakashi heard his summon say, "I think he'd be considered naked."

Kakashi decided that he didn't want to know.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this took so long to come out. My local con was coming up and I was spending the time I usually dedicate to writing to working on my cosplay. But now that it has passed, I should be returning to my normal update schedule.

Hope you guys enjoyed this fun little chapter! It was a nice to write Ran acting like a kid for a whole chapter for once. Just goes to show how comfortable she is around Pakkun (and other animals), compared to everyone else…

Alternate Chapter Titles:

Adventures of the Shoeless Squad

Makin' My Way Downtown

Pakkun, Three Time Failure of the Babysitter Exam

Learnin' the Hard Way

Shino Doesn't Deserve This

Is a Turtle Without a Shell Homeless or Naked?


	11. The Calm Before the Storm

A/N: So… it's been a while hasn't it?

Recap since even I forgot parts of this story:

A young girl arrives in Konoha after her mother dies, and it turns out she's the daughter of one Hatake Kakashi. Turns out Kakashi is pretty terrible at being a parent (no surprise there) and ends up messing up a lot. Things go kind of alright for him for a while, but then he really messes up when Ran learns that Kakashi killed one of his teammates. Not knowing what to do to fix this, Kakashi kind of stands to the side screaming internally. Until Pakkun shows up and helps to reassure Ran. Things get better from then on, but after running into Hyuuga Hinata Ran starts to have night terrors. It turns out the byakugan looks a lot like the clouded over eyes of the dead, which Ran had gotten a real good look at when her mother died. We left off last time with Pakkun taking Ran exploring through the village.

* * *

Ran's nightmares didn't get better with time, in fact, they seemed to be getting worse. A good week later, Kakashi was still woken in the wee hours of the morning by Ran's screams. It had gotten to the point where several of their neighbors, all ninja themselves, started making sure that anything wasn't amiss. Luckily Kakashi was able to send them on their way with brief explanations and apologies.

If only the frequency of the night terrors was the only problem. It seemed to take longer and longer every night to get Ran to go back to sleep. The sun had been peeking over the horizon by the time she fell back asleep the other day. Kakashi wasn't able to drop her off at daycare until nearly noon that day, making him obscenely late for team practice.

Kakashi missed the time when Ran, and by extension himself, had a regular sleeping schedule. That felt like forever ago at this point.

At the very least, Ran's nightmares didn't seem to be affecting her _too_ much during the daytime. Kasumi-sensei was keeping him up to speed on how she was doing while at daycare, and for the most part, she was doing fairly well. She still got into the occasional fight or scuffle, but she wasn't the one provoking them. Ran was even starting to go out of her way to make new friends thanks to Kasumi-sensei. That woman needed to be paid much, much more in Kakashi's opinion. She was a godsend.

Pakkun, upon being asked if he would baby sit again, pointed out a glaring hole in Ran's care routine on Kakashi's part. She only had one toy. It was a miracle she hadn't completely destroyed his apartment out of sheer boredom at this point.

"Would you leave a young pup with only one toy? Can't imagine human pups are that much different," Pakkun oh so eloquently put it. The dog was now refusing to watch Ran until he knew that he wouldn't be dealing with a bored and understimulated kid. Pakkun had dealt with that once before, and never again. His poor tail hadn't been the same since.

Which is what lead Kakashi to his current predicament, standing in the middle of a toy store completely overwhelmed. There was just so much _stuff_. Wondering just what he had gotten himself into, the jounin tried to figure out what Ran would like. He knew she liked Gekotan, frogs, turtles, dogs, and maybe bugs. There was still a 50/50 chance on that last one. Gekotan should be easy enough, Kakashi was seeing the frog all over the village now that he knew what it was.

" _What…?_ " Was all that managed to come out when he found himself in the midst of an entire aisle worth of Gekotan merchandise. Bright greens and yellows were splattered on the plastic boxes along with the show's characters on every surface.

Kakashi was _way_ out of his depth here.

"Can I help you?" A young man asked him, and Kakashi was on the verge of latching onto him and breaking down into tears.

God bless store workers.

With the help of the young man by the name of Hiroki, Kakashi managed to find some toys that would hopefully keep Ran from blowing anything up out of boredom. A Gekotan playset, building blocks, and art supplies. She hadn't shown a preference for blowing things up or setting them on fire, but he wasn't taking any chances. Kakashi triple checked that all of the new toys were flame resistant and didn't have any exploding tags hidden in them before presenting them to Ran.

A smile about as wide as her head broke out across her face with her eyes widening in wonder; Ran was beyond ecstatic about her new play things. She wasted no time building castles, that were really just trembling stacks of blocks that looked like they would fall over due to a light breeze, and coming up with elaborate adventures for the little figures to partake in. Little Princess Umeko who was the illegitimate child of the daimyo's daughter and a mysterious samurai who was born after a night of passion would often-

Wait… What?

Where…?

Kakashi was rather proud of his parenting success. Look at him, actually not messing up a child for once in his life. Ran was set to come out a fully adjusted adult, or at least as fully adjusted a child of his could be. But that high didn't last for long. A lone Gekotan figure was what did him in. Left out, forgotten by Ran one night, Kakashi's foot stood no chance against it when he stepped on it during a half-asleep shuffle to the bathroom.

Some jounin he was.

Feared across the Elemental Nations; done in by a cartoon frog with a shit-eating grin.

Just what was happening to his life?

* * *

 _Well, isn't this just great_ , Kakashi grumbled mentally. Apparently, Pakkun was too busy to watch Ran this rather unlucky Sunday. Just what he was busy with was beyond the jounin, dogs certainly weren't known for their busy schedules. _What now?_ Kakashi wondered as he glanced at Ran finishing her breakfast. He had been forced to agree to start Naruto's training the previous night. After the boy had done something exceptionally stupid out of boredom and ended up in the hospital. Just what the boy would do if he were denied training a second time… well Kakashi certainly didn't want to find out.

"Looks like you'll be with me today," Kakashi sighed.

The walk to the hospital took longer than usual, what with Kakashi losing Ran _twice_. It wasn't like Kakashi wasn't all about taking the less direct path, but for goodness sakes, he had turned his back for one second! By the time he realized Ran wasn't behind anymore, she would four blocks away petting a stray cat. To make matters worse, she just didn't understand what the problem was with her wandering off.

If he didn't already have gray hair…

"Took you long enough!" Naruto complained as soon as Kakashi opened the door to his room, but he was already too worn out to come up with one of his usual excuses. It wasn't even past noon. Why did Ran have so much energy?

Ran wasted no time running up to the young man. "Naruto-nii! Are you hurt?" She frantically looked him over for injuries.

"He was just being more stupid than usual," Sakura supplied.

"Not that it matters! I'm ready to go whenever, Kakashi-sensei, dattebayo!"

"You shouldn't be in such a hurry, Naruto. Make sure you spend enough time here, because once you leave, we'll be starting the most difficult and taxing training of your life."

Naruto shuddered before looking down at the bedsheets in his lap, wondering if spending some more time in them would be so bad. Ran suddenly stiffened. "Something wrong, Ran?" Naruto asked.

Not answering, the little girl jumped off the hospital bed and furrowed her brow. A few sniffs later, "I know this smell…" she muttered. "Ah!" Ran exclaimed before darting to the door and yanking it open with all her might. "The one who smells like Jii-chan!" She proudly exclaimed, pointing up at a very confused Asuma.

Kakashi repressed the urge to smack his face while Asuma tried to figure out what to do. "Just ignore her," he suggested. Kakashi usually found that worked rather well when dealing with Ran.

"Ah, well, Kakashi, do you have a second?" Asuma asked awkwardly.

"Huh? Yeah, sure," the jounin shrugged before following his friend out of the room.

"So…" Kakashi drew out the word as he leaned back against the window of the hospital. What on earth could Asuma want with him? It wasn't like he had been out of the village recently due to the sudden addition to his home. That excluded just about anything mission related Asuma might want to talk about. Unless he wanted to know about the current state of D-ranks in the village, but he highly doubted that. Thankfully he only had four more of those godforsaken jobs to complete. Kakashi wasn't sure how much longer he could take the weed pulling and errand running before he threw one of the entitled civilians who employed him into the river. Probably wouldn't go over too well with Tsunade or the elders, but it would feel amazing in the moment.

"Here," Asuma said as he tossed a can of coffee at Kakashi. "You look like you need it."

Kakashi caught the can and gave Asuma a flat look. "Thanks," his voice matched his face. "As much as I appreciate your concern and consideration, I take it you didn't ask to talk to me so you could pester me about my sleeping habits." Oh how he missed sleeping … Those really were the days.

Asuma coughed into hand in discomfort before popping the lid of his coffee. "Well, no, not really…" He took a sip of his drink before pausing once again.

Kakashi lifted his chin at the other man and made a 'continue' motion with his hand. Whatever Asuma wanted to talk about made him uncomfortable, that much was obvious, but Kakashi wasn't going to hold his hand through whatever it was that he wanted to ask. Asuma scratched the back of his head and by this point Kakashi was starting to feel irritated. It wasn't like he was running on a nice 16 hours of sleep a night that he had been getting a month ago. Now he had to deal with a kid who was hyperactive one moment and then closed off and distant the next. The flip flopping and night terrors were starting to grate against his nerves, so Asuma would have to excuse him if he wasn't in the most supportive mood currently.

Just when Kakashi was about to stand back up and head back to Naruto's room, Asuma spoke up. "Say, why's your kid here with you today?" His words came out rather rushed and he had to clear his throat after the first one.

An eyebrow rose as Kakashi gave Asuma an unreadable look. "It's Sunday. The daycare she goes to is closed on Sundays."

"O-oh, that's too bad," Asuma took another swig from the can as he glanced away. "If you want, I could watch her for the day…"

Well now Kakashi was curious and a little bit suspicious. Why would Sarutobi-I'm-Not-Great-With-Kids-Asuma offer to watch his daughter unprompted? It was a well known fact that Asuma would dodge his responsibility of watching his nephew like there was no tomorrow. There was also the fact that he had avoided picking up a genin team until the new Ino-Shika-Cho could be formed. He claimed that it was just tradition, but everyone knew that it was bull. There were more than enough Sarutobi clansmen running around that could have taught them, but Asuma was adamant about waiting for them. If it just so happened to give him a good cover for not having to take a genin team for the time being, well, that was just a bonus. So what could Asuma want with his kid?

"Hey, don't look at me like that!" Asuma held up his hands in a nonthreatening manner. Apparently Kakashi's internal musings and distrust had shown on what little of his face was visible. He would have to work on that. "We all know how gung ho Naruto is over that new jutsu you promised to teach him. He ended up in the hospital because he did something stupid trying learn on his own, didn't he? I don't think he's going to wait much longer, and it's dangerous for a kid to be around when a young, overzealous shinobi like Naruto is trying to master something new. I was just going to go to Nara compound to play some shogi with Shikamaru and thought that you would like me to take her off of your hands for a few hours."

Kakashi's posture relaxed just the slightest bit. Truthfully, it would be very helpful if Asuma were to watch Ran for a couple of hours so he could train Naruto without having to worry that he was going to kill himself or her on accident. Still, why was Asuma going out of his way to offer? Well now he was even more curious…

"I suppose it would be helpful," Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. Besides, it wasn't like he suspected Asuma of having some other nefarious plan; he wasn't Jiraya after all. It was just strange to say the least.

"Great," Asuma smiled. That only made Kakashi more curious. Oh he was going to find out what was going on here for sure.

"Ran," Kakashi called when they reentered the hospital room. The little girl was currently wrapped in one the blankets off of the bed and inching across the floor like a caterpillar. Naruto was watching the scene with great concentration and seemed to be taking mental notes. Even Sakura looked interested.

Kakashi decided that he didn't want to know.

The little girl's head popped up when she heard her name and she jumped to her feet. She was still wrapped in the blanket so her feet weren't all that steady as she stood in front of him. "You're going to spend the day with Asuma," he gestured to the man next to him who waved at her.

"The one who smells like Jii-chan?" She asked, causing Asuma to hang his head in defeat.

"Yes, now be good for him while I train Naruto. I'll pick you up at the end of the day," Kakashi explained. Ran nodded seriously, but since she was still wrapped up in the blanket the movement looked almost comical. Sending her spinning when he yanked off the blanket with a hard tug, Kakashi wondered if Asuma knew what he was getting himself into…

* * *

Asuma watched the pink haired girl next to him out of the corner of his eye. A Gekotan hair clip was nestled in her dense locks, and he briefly wondered how strong that thing had to be to hold back hair like hers. Kakashi's hair was so wild and untamable hair bands would snap if he tried to pull it back into a ponytail. Just how Sakumo had managed to control his hair to the point where he was able to wear it down his back like he did was a mystery to the village. A blue shirt with a bright yellow duckling, he was pretty sure that it was another character from Gekotan, stamped on the front. The Sarutobi clan currently had several children, and they all adored the show, making it impossible for him to not know what it was. The duckling had a large speech bubble next to its head with "piyo piyo!" written out in bright colors. Why a duckling was making the sound a chick made was beyond him. It was probably explained in the show. A pair of bright red shorts and the thick soled wooden sandals completed the outfit. A few scattered plain bandaids covered cuts and scrapes showed that the kid wasn't one to shy away from playing rough.

She was about average height and weight for a five-year-old by Asuma's guess, but then again, he didn't know squat the growing patterns of children. The thing that interested him far more than what she was wearing, or her size, was the fact that she seemed to figure out how close to stand by him to not get lost. But wasn't close enough for him to touch her. Was Kakashi's paranoia genetic? It sure seemed that way.

Ran seemed to get distracted easily, but what fiver-year-old didn't? But she never got separated from him. So how had Kakashi managed to lose her on the day that she had barreled into him? Was he just that absent minded? Going by how he reacted when Asuma offered to watch her it didn't seem like it.

Asuma suspected that Kakashi hadn't even realized how he had responded to Asuma's offer. He had instantly sat up straighter, his usually lazy and disinterested eye sharpened, and his whole demeanor screamed 'combative'. Sure, Kakashi was protective of those close to him, and this was his daughter they were talking about, but he had never been that forward or obvious about his protectiveness. Kakashi was a very hands off teacher who seemed to believe that kids learned best through mistakes, and was not one to protect them from making those mistakes. But then again, Asuma guessed that it did make sense. Ran was a descendant of a all-but-dead incredibly powerful clan that had struck fear into the hearts of shinobi across the continent before their decline. Hell, even today some of those effects could still be felt. Elderly Suna shinobi still had less than positive reactions when The White Fang was mentioned. It would make sense that some less than stellar individuals would have their eye on the kid. She was right at the perfect age for optimal moulding into the ideal shinobi, and Asuma knew of a certain council member who was rather interested in creating such ninja. He would be nervous and skittish if he was in Kakashi's position, that was for sure…

"Looks like we're here," Asuma said to Ran as they walked up to the Nara clan compound. The little girl was currently gaping up at the feat of traditional architecture.

The cluster of houses looked a lot like the homes that made up her old village. Raised porches made out of sturdy lumber, stone steps leading up to the porches with shoes scattered about them, sliding paper doors, and slanted roofs lined with tile. Overall, the homes were of a much higher quality than the ones she was used to. There was no way a bunch of farming houses that stood through several wars and everyday wear and tear could compare to the homes of a rich shinobi clan. Some of the paper doors even seemed to be adorned with paintings of landscapes and deer. The wood of the houses weren't obviously chipped in certain areas and didn't show the signs of aging. The biggest difference of all was probably the power lines that wove above and along the houses like spider webs. Scattered clan members could be seen about lounging on their porches, napping on the rooftops, or making their way from house to another. Despite the high quality of the compound, it had a very laid back feeling to it.

"Oh, Asuma-san," a woman called over when she spotted them. "Shikamaru is waiting for you at the usual place!" Asuma smiled and waved at the woman in thanks before he lead Ran into compound.

"Pretty nice isn't?" He asked Ran with a smirk as he lit a cigarette. Ran continued to look around with her jaw slack in amazement. "Their compound is nice, but they aren't stuck up like a certain Hyuuga clan," he explained. Ran briefly wondered what the Hyuuga clan compound looked like, but it was pushed to the side as something new caught her attention.

Ran remained in quiet amazement as they made their way through the houses and headed to a house that was larger and nicer than the rest. There a certain young man was lazing on his back next to a shogi board. "Took you long enough…" He grumbled when he caught a whiff of the cigarette smoke. The brand Asuma smoked had an especially strong smell when lit.

Hauling himself upright, and somehow making the motion look as tedious as he probably felt it was, Shikamaru let out a long, opened mouthed yawn. He stopped abruptly when he spotted a pink tufted standing next to his teacher. "Why's Kakashi-sensei's kid with you?" He asked.

"Took her off Kakashi's hands for the day so he could focus on training Naruto," Asuma answered nonchalantly, but that made the young man even more curious.

Shikamaru knew far better than most how Asuma tended to avoid watching children. So why was he watching one so willingly? Not letting any of his curiosity show on his face, Shikamaru gave a lazy shrug before sitting in front of the game board.

Asuma knew Shikamaru well enough to know that the kid was probably starting to get suspicious about how he had been acting for the past while, but he also knew that he didn't have enough information to pull together a clear picture of what was going on. He was actually looking forward to the day that the young man figured it out. It was only a matter of time now, going by the fact that Shikamaru was the first of his students and his friends (excluding Kakashi and his heightened sense of smell) to figure out that he and Kurenai were together. Ino was a close second due to her connections around the village and understanding of human behavior thanks to her father's teachings. How she enjoyed lording that bit of information over his head.

Asuma took a drag from his cigarette as he kicked off his sandals and sat opposite Shikamaru, who had gotten started at laying out the pieces.

"Oh! You're playin' shogi!" A voice, that Asuma honestly hadn't expected to hear, exclaimed.

"You know what it is?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep! Me 'n Jii-chan used to play it all the time! I won every time!" Ran puffed out her chest and thumped it in pride.

"Really now?" Asuma sounded a little sceptical but impressed all the same. "Are you sure he wasn't going easy on you?"

"Nuh-uh! I'd whoop his butt every time! He never stood a chance against me! I was the best in the whole entire village!"

A look Asuma knew crossed Shikamaru's face as they listened to the girl's bragging. "Asuma," he said.

"Yep," Asuma said as he shifted away from the board. "Well Shikamaru here is the best player in Konoha, so why don't you see if you can take him on?"

"You got it!" Ran cheered as she slipped out of her sandals and scooted to where Asuma previously was on the porch. "Now I have gotta protect my title, so I won' be goin' easy on ya, ya hear?" Ran stroked an imaginary mustache seriously so the two men assumed she was imitating someone.

"You can go first," Shikamaru gestured to the board. Ran's eyes narrowed and her tongue stuck out in concentration as she stared down at the board.

It was well known the kind of tactical and all around genius Hatake Kakashi was. There were whispers about who was smarter; was it Kakashi or Shikamaru? The latter, who was considered a genius in a clan of geniuses, or the former? While he usually brushed such questions off, he was still only 16 while Kakashi was a seasoned 30 year old jounin. There was no way Shikamaru would be able to outsmart some like that. Yet. While the young man had been very tempted to face off against his senior in a game of shogi, Kakashi had always refused or blown him off.

Yet, here was a young child who according to his father was inheriting Kakashi's abilities. Prominent canines, a hyper aware sense of smell, and probably a sense of hearing to match it in a few years. There were already rumors and theories floating around about what other kinds of things the girl had inherited. It was not a stretch of the imagination for Ran to have inherited his superior intellect. At the age of five, Kakashi had managed to graduate the shinobi academy and went on to be promoted to chuunin at six. If that intellect had passed onto Ran, she would be showing the intelligence of a 12 year-old at the very least. There was also always the option that she would surpass him.

Asuma looked between the two in amusement as he smoked. It had been a long time since he had seen that look on Shikamaru's face: excitement. He was excited to see what Ran would do and just how she would grow. Perhaps she could compete at the same level as Shikamaru in a couple of years. That would certainly be something to watch.

Ran stopped her careful consideration of the board and the pieces scattered across it abruptly, and looked up at Shikamaru with a confident smirk. Asuma unconsciously held his breath in anticipation as Shikamaru's face grew more serious as he leaned forward a little. Who knew watching Kakashi's kid for a couple of hours was going to be this interesting?

"THERE!" Ran bellowed. Asuma leaned forward to get a better look at the opening move she was going to make. Only, she didn't pick up one the pieces. No, she held her middle finger back against her thumb before unleashing all of her strength on the piece in front of her. The piece hit skittered across the board and collided with several of Shikamaru's pieces on the other side, sending them off the edge of the board.

She flicked the shoji piece.

The cigarette fell from Asuma's mouth in shock.

"One, two, three, four, five! Five pieces you hafta beat!" Ran cheered as she crossed her arms in pride.

"W-wait?" Shikamaru stuttered out in shock. "What are you talking about?"

Ran's brow furrowed. "I knocked five of your pieces off so you have to try and knock off six," she was very confused.

"That's not how you play shogi! What game are you playing?"

"The one Jii-chan made. He tried to explain the rules to the real game to be but they were too confusin' so we made a new one," she didn't sound impressed. Halfway through Ran's explanation there was a thump as Asuma fell over in shock. Shikamaru's head was quick to follow, only onto the board instead.

She had certainly inherited Kakashi's ability to turn expectations of her on their head.

* * *

A bright red mark was smack dab in the middle of Shikamaru's forehead as he disgruntledly moved a shogi piece. Asuma still chuckled to himself every now and again as he made moves in response. It wasn't every day that you got a shock that big. Thinking back on it now, it was really their own fault that their expectations got so high. Ran was obviously a little kid, and nothing she had done so far gave them any reason to think otherwise. For two men who hated being compared and expected to be exactly like their fathers, they sure were quick to do the same to Ran. Asuma started to snicker again while taking a drag from his cigarette, causing him to inhale the smoke wrong. His eyes watered as he tried to not cough up a lung.

"You deserved that," Shikamaru muttered as he moved another piece. "You're not even paying attention to the game."

"Sorry, sorry," Asuma apologized, but he started to snicker again. "It was just so unexpected! Come on, you have to find it even the tiniest bit funny!" Asuma punched Shikamaru's shoulder gently.

Shikamaru just rolled his eyes and sighed. "I win," he said as he made the final move of the game. "I don't wanna play if you're not going to put up a challenge," he grumbled as he flopped onto his back.

Ran seemed to have the right idea in Shikamaru's mind. She was currently spread eagle on her back next to Asuma napping soundly. She had ended up conking out ten or so minutes after their game of not-shogi. Apparently using all the brainpower it took to knock five pieces out at once had taken it out of her. At least, that's what they assumed.

For the next few hours, Shikamaru and Asuma played shogi as Ran napped in peace. Shikamaru won as he always did, but Asuma did manage to get close a few times. Was Shikamaru really that thrown off by Ran's actions? Asuma wondered, or was there something else on his mind? The young man certainly looked to be deep in thought as they played. Perhaps it was a mix of the two.

"Asuma-sensei! Shikamaru!" A loud voice called, snapping the pair out of their thoughts.

"Naruto?" Shikamaru called to him as he ran towards the porch. "What're you doing here?"

"I was training with Kakashi-sensei and he said that I should come and get some tips on my wind nature from Asuma-sensei," Naruto explained.

"Hoo? So you have a wind nature as well?" Asuma asked as he stood up from the porch. "Sure, I can give you some pointers, come on." He lead Naruto away, with Shikamaru trailing after since he really had nothing better to do currently.

As the small group made their way from the porch, Ran started to stir. Naruto's shout from earlier had started to wake her, but she didn't open her eyes until they were around back at the training grounds. Asuma made sure that they were a decent distance away from her so there wouldn't be a risk of her being injured on accident.

Ran sat up and stretched before hopping to her feet and went to find where Asuma and Shikamaru had gone. Doing so wasn't hard due to the strong scent of Asuma's cigarettes clinging to him. It turned out that they weren't all that far away, and since their backs were to her she couldn't see what they were doing. Not all that interested in whatever the boys were doing, Ran decided that exploring would be the best bet for now. The houses that made up the Nara compound were nice, but what interested the girl far more was the forest that was just beyond them. Pakkun must have not had the time to show her this forest the other day. "No time to waste then," Ran said as she hopped off of the porch and started walking into the unknown forest.

The grass and ferns were soft underneath her bare feet, and the dirt path that lead through the forest wasn't all that rough. The smell of plants and earth was strong as she made her way down the path. Little sun beams broke through the canopy of leaves and made almost a kaleidoscope pattern of light across the ground and foliage below. A bird called off in the distance and Ran returned the sound to the best of the ability. It must have been able to tell that she wasn't one of them since it took off soon after that.

Ran hummed and swung her arms as she walked. It had only been a couple of days since her walk with Pakkun, but it felt like much longer. When taking walks and playing in the forest was a daily activity for so long, it became a shock to only do it every week or so. If that. Ran found that she had missed the way the patchwork of sunlight felt on her skin, how moss and earth felt under her feet and their scent filled her nostrils. The the sounds animals would make as they scurried around and called out to one another.

Just for a moment, Ran closed her eyes and pretended that this forest was the one that she would spend all day playing in with the other children on the village. That when she was done here she would go home and Mama would be waiting for her. Her hair would be pulled back by a handkerchief, ink staining her clothes and skin a dark black, papers would be scattered about and weighed down with little rocks or anything that was within reaching distance. All of the doors would be open to try and fend off the blazing summer heat, and a warm breeze made its way through the open house. The papers would rustle and shift, along with any clothing and loose hair, but they would stay in place thanks to Mama's quick thinking. The air would be so thick with moisture from the ocean that sweating was made ineffective and clung to everyone like a second skin. The only relief from it was to jump into the stream in the forest. Mama would turn when she heard Ran's feet pitter pattering across the wooden floor, and would give her a huge smile before smothering her in a hug. Ink would rub off onto her skin, clothes, and hair, but Ran wouldn't mind. All that mattered was the smell of fresh flowers, ink, rice paper, and the soap that she used to wash their clothes filling her nose. The feeling of her soft cotton yukata under her hands, and her even softer skin against her cheek. How her heartbeat thudded steadily along in her ears, and her laughter, light as a bird's song filled the entire house.

Snap!

The sound of a twig breaking snapped Ran out of her memories and she whipped her head around to find herself face to face with a large buck. A doe was standing a ways behind him. It felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. Why was her face wet? Wiping away the tears, Ran quietly said, "umm..." Before looking around her. As she looked closer she saw that there weren't only two deer, but a good dozen or so standing in between the trees. She had a strong feeling that there were even more around that she couldn't see.

"You're the guards of this forest, aren't you?" She asked a bit nervously. The buck in front of her said nothing, opting to stare into her eyes. Ran looked away, made uncomfortable by the black eyes boring into hers. "I'm not supposed to be in here, am I?" The Once again, the buck didn't respond. These must have been different animals from Pakkun and the other big talking dog she met the other day.

Animals not talking was normal, and Ran smacked her forehead for thinking otherwise, no matter how briefly. This stupid, weird, place was getting to her.

"I'll go then," Ran said as she looked around for the exit. "Uhhh..." Well that was just great, she had no idea where she was and the path was nowhere in sight. She must have wandered too far while lost in her memories. "Do you guys know the way out?" She asked the deer. They may have not been able to talk, but maybe they could understand speech. These deer were different from any others she had seen before. The ones back home would run as soon as they saw a person, not stand around them all intimidatingly.

This place was so weird.

The buck snorted before shaking its head in the direction behind it. "That way?" Ran asked him, but he didn't respond. Opting to stare into her soul with those dark blank eyes. Needless to say they were giving her the heebie jeebies. Ran held her hands out in front of her non threateningly as she slowly stepped around the buck. "I'm going, alright?"

The buck took a step back to give her some more space to move past him, but he didn't take his eyes off of her.

"I'm sorry that I barged into your house like that," Ran apologized. "It probably wasn' very nice to find a stranger in your home." It didn't take Ran long to find the path again, and once she did, she high tailed it out of the forest as quickly as her legs could carry her.

"That was scary," Ran wheezed as she bent over with her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath. She risked a glance back at the woods and was relieved to find that the deer hadn't chased her. "Not gonna do that again."

Unknownst to the little girl, there were several pairs of eyes peeking through the foliage. Satisfied that the intruder had been properly scared off, the deer went their separate ways.

* * *

Asuma waved to Naruto's retreating back as Shikamaru lazed against one of the training dummies. Asuma didn't know how much of his advice Naruto ended up understanding, but he had faith that the boy would figure it out with time.

"You finally done?" Shikamaru asked. He wasn't happy that his shoji game had been interrupted by the blond.

"Yeah, we should be able to head back then." Asuma had to hide a smile at Shikamaru's disgruntled expression. Shikamaru sighed as she hauled himself to his feet, making sure to show just how much it effort it required. Before stuffing his hands in his pockets and heading back to the main house with Asuma.

"Well, that's odd," Asuma mused when they returned to find that Ran wasn't where they had left her. "That's where Ran was napping earlier, right?" Asuma asked Shikamaru while pointing to the spot on the porch.

"She probably just woke up and wandered off," Shikamaru didn't seem all that concerned over the little girl's whereabouts. "She probably just went to find a bathroom." Her shoes were still where she had kicked them off earlier so it wasn't like she had left or anything.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Asuma agreed. Still, he looked a little uneasy.

"She'll probably be back in a few minutes," Shikamaru shrugged. Despite his laid back demeanor, it didn't slip past him that Asuma was not reassured by his words. Kids wandered off all the time, and if their first encounter with Ran had told them anything, she was prone to doing just that.

Despite his unease, Asuma sat down across next to Shikamaru and waited for Ran. Shikamaru was most likely right, she would be back in a few minutes.

Except she wasn't.

It had been a good ten minutes and they still hadn't seen hide or hair of the girl, and that probably wasn't a good thing.

"She probably just got lost looking for the bathroom," Shikamaru sighed. "Why are you freaking out so much? Kids wonder all the time." Asuma was overreacting in his opinion.

Asuma was not freaking out, thank you very much. He was nervous and a little uneasy. He was not freaking out and panicking like some child, he was a fully grown man! But it would be a lie to say that he wasn't just the tiniest, miniscule amount, barely visible under even the strongest microscope, intimidated by Kakashi.

"It's not like Kakashi-sensei is all that good at keeping an eye on her," Shikamaru said. The fact that he had lost her the first time they had met the girl was a good example of that. "And he's pretty relaxed about everything. I highly doubt he's going to freak out over his kid probably getting distracted by a dog on her way back."

"That's where you're wrong, Shikamaru," Asuma said as he looked under the raised porch for a pink head of hair. "Kakashi is beyond paranoid." Nothing. Damnit! Asuma had hoped that she was just hiding from them in order to play a prank on them, but that didn't seem to be the case.

"Everyone knows that." Shikamaru didn't sound convinced.

"You hear about Ueda Daisuke? How he got thrown out of a window?"

"That's just a rumor."

"No, it actually happened. The reason why is being kept hush hush, but Kakashi threw him out of the Hokage tower after something happened between his kid and Ran. Apparently there was a fight and the kid said something that made Kakashi so angry he attacked the guy."

"What?" Shikamaru actually sat up.

"And Genma said that Kakashi nearly skewered him after he came home to find him in his house and Ran screaming. Said he nearly shit himself." The fact that Genma tended to over exaggerate wasn't mentioned. No one would really question if Kakashi had actually done that or not.

"It's not like we lost her, more just… displaced her." He had a feeling that this was going to be very troublesome.

"You wanna be the one to explain that we lost his kid, the last of a very powerful bloodline I might remind you, to Hatake-My-Middle-Name-is-Paranoia-Kakashi?"

OK, they have messed up. Just the teeniest tiniest bit.

It wasn't like Kakashi was going to throw _them_ out of a window, they were his friends, right?

Who were they kidding, of course he would.

Damn troublesome girl.

"Ran?" Asuma called from his place on top of one the Nara houses. "Ran!" He drew out her name in hopes that she would hear him. There was no response, only the Nara lazing on the house across from him giving him a look, and Asuma jumped down.

"Oka-san, have you seen a girl about this tall with pink hair?" Shikamaru asked his mom. Hopefully they had run into each other and his wonderful, not at all troublesome, mother knew where the kid was right now.

"What? No I haven't."

Of course.

It was never that easy.

Shikamaru ran out of the house leaving his mother behind yelling, "wait! Isn't that Kakashi-san's daughter?" Great, now he was going to have another thing to deal with once they found the brat.

Fantastic.

It was after Asuma and Shikamaru had searched the compound from top to bottom that the panic really started to set in. Ran wasn't in any of the bathrooms, playing with one of his family's animals, and no one had seen her. How on Earth a five year old girl had managed to sneak away from a _shinobi_ clan without any of them noticing was beyond them. Were the Nara just genetically bad babysitters? Probably, but that was beside the point.

They had no idea when Kakashi would be arriving, and even less of an idea of where his kid was. Maybe Kakashi would take mercy on them and make their deaths quick?

Who were they kidding, of course he wouldn't.

There was just one place that they hadn't looked yet. "You don't think...?" Shikamaru drifted off as they stood in front of the expansive Nara forest. "Everyone knows not to go into our forest without express permission," he thought aloud. There was a brief pause before Shikamaru groaned. "But someone from a backwater farming village in the middle of nowhere would have no idea."

"Just how dangerous would you say the forest is for a non-Nara?" Asuma asked with slight cringe. Even he hadn't been stupid enough in his youth to try and break in.

"Our deer are a lot smarter than your average deer, it's how they know how to run anyone who isn't a Nara out, but they tend to be pretty territorial." Shikamaru rubbed the back of neck.

"There have got to have been some dumb kids who thought it would be a good idea to break in on a dare?"

"They generally run out screaming covered with hoof shaped bruises."

"...Are there any Nara medics we could take care of her to before Kakashi comes to pick her up?"

"I think they're all out on missions." Wasn't that just perfect?

Asuma stared intently at the ground as he tried to figure out what to do while Shikamaru seemed to be doing the same.

"Ran?" A very familiar voice called. Asuma and Shikamaru froze and a cold sweat started to run down their backs.

He was here, and Ran was still missing.

They hadn't even heard him walk up, and no one would probably hear when they left this plane of existence. Or maybe he would make an example of them and string them up for a very public execution.

Either way, it was probably a good idea to make their peace with god.

The pair was doing just that, that is, until they heard the clacking of wooden sandals walking towards them. There, standing in all of her glory, was a very alive and uninjured Ran. There was a twig and a few leaves stuck in her wild hair, and she was dirtier than she had been when they had first gotten her, but she was otherwise fine

Asuma felt about ready to cry out of relief.

Kakashi glanced down at the girl when she all but ran up to him and latched onto his side. His eyes narrowed slightly when he noticed the few leaves and sticks stuck in her hair, and the almost shell shocked expression on her face. "Did she give you any trouble?"

"N-none at all!" Asuma said a little too quickly, his voice cracking on the first word. Shikamaru sighed and hung his head.

Kakashi wasn't exactly buying what they were saying, but nothing bad seemed to have happened so he shrugged it off. "Thanks for watching her for the day," he thanked them flippantly.

"It was no trouble," Asuma tried to assure him, but his words were a bit too forced.

Ran said nothing as they walked out of the Nara compound, and she was still all but clinging to Kakashi's side. If there was one thing that she had learned from this misadventure, it was that she should be more careful about where she explores in this weird, strange, village.

Asuma, on the other hand, learned that he was going to have to get his act together in the coming months if he was going to be able to do a good job in his upcoming role. While Shikamaru decided then and there to scrap his plan of having a son and a daughter. Children were far more trouble than they were worth.

* * *

"Ooooh!" Ran exclaimed when she caught sight of the giant waterfall with a wooden beam running horizontally across it and a good few dozen Narutos standing on it. "W-w-what is that?! When did this waterfall get here? Why were there so many Narutos here? What're they tryin' to do?" She shouted once again when she spotted Yamato sitting in the middle of a circle of pillars that had animal heads on the top. She wasted no time attempting to run up to the waterfall, but a gloved hand stopped her.

"S-senpai?!" Yamato exclaimed as he looked back and forth from Naruto and Kakashi several times. "Are you sure that it is a good idea to have her here?"

"Mah, mah, I full confidence in your and Naruto's skills," Kakashi said with an infuriating eye crinkle. Poor Yamato looked to be on the verge of have a stroke. "Now, Ran, what did we agree to?" He asked her.

"Not to bother Yamato or Naruto-nii, and to make sure to not go too far, and to listen to everythin' you say."

"Good," Kakashi said. Ran nodded her head before darting off.

"Senpai..." Yamato trailed off when Kakashi made his way over to him. "I really don't think that this is a good idea..."

"I wasn't lying when I said that I trusted your and Naruto's skills. He hasn't slipped since we first started this training, and I have total faith that you'll be able to control him in the event that he does."

Yamato wasn't going to lie and say that Kakashi's praise didn't make him happy, but he really wasn't comfortable with this set up. There was a reason that they chose the training field that was the farthest away from the village and the most isolated. Even if they did get Naruto under control, Ran would still very likely have seen what had happened. While it was an open secret about who the host of the Kyuubi was, it really wasn't good to have someone witness it. Much less a kid who held no previous bias against Naruto due to her not having been raised in the village. That lack of bias could quickly be rewritten into fear, and it would probably end up hurting Naruto to have Ran afraid of him.

Seemingly knowing what Yamato was thinking, Kakashi asked, "do you really have so little faith in me? Putting a genjutsu on a five year old in the event something does happen is something I could both do in my sleep."

Yamato sputtered. While generally not harmful, it wasn't exactly ethical to put someone who wasn't even in the academy yet in a genjutsu. But Kakashi at least seemed to have everything figured out... "I hope you know I won't be able to keep an eye on her, I already have my hands full with Naruto here."

"I have faith in you," Kakashi pat him on the back before standing up and putting his book in his face.

"Senpai!" Yamato wailed, ready to argue, but then he noticed that Kakashi's eyes weren't actually on the page. While it didn't look like it at first glance, he was actually keeping an eye on the little girl who was currently climbing the tree that the bench he had made Kakashi earlier was under. Yamato didn't say anything as he turned his attention back onto Naruto.

Kakashi sighed as he sat down on the bench his wonderful kouhai had made him. He could hear the leaves of the tree above him rustling as Ran scrambled across the branches. Truth be told, it was not his idea to have Ran hanging around while they completed dangerous training like this. He was actually quite against it when a certain Inuzuka woman suggested the idea to him.

Why did Tsume have to have good points and arguments at times? It was like with Gai earlier when he said that Ran was a lot like him in the way that she didn't open up to people easily. What was with the seemingly dumb and simple people in his life being surprising insightful at times? _"Bonding's important, Kakashi! Ya gotta get close to your kid before they'll open up to you! Kids love playin' in big open fields, and I happen to know that you're currently spending time in one. Bring her along and let her run 'round. It'll be good for her!"_ Did Tsume actually have some of that mother's intuition, or did he have a mole that he needed to snuff out? Besides that, he now needed to replace his front window on top of everything else he had to take care of. Why people felt the need to use the window when he had a perfectly fine door was beyond him.

Either way, Ran was now spending her afternoons playing the training ground after spending her mornings at the daycare. Kakashi would fill that time with guidance, as much as he could give on this subject, before sending Pakkun and Bull to pick Ran up. She seemed to enjoy riding on Bull's back at least.

The first day that Ran spent time hanging out at the training ground she was careful not to wander too far away from Kakashi. She spent her time climbing the tree that he was under and romping around in the field around it. But as time passed she grew more and more confident. It wasn't like Naruto was doing anything big or dangerous. He just pressed his hands against the waterfall and shouting. There was more going on during the spar she witnessed between team seven on one of the first days she spent in Konoha. Just why Yamato was sitting in the middle of those wooden pillars and why she wasn't supposed to disturb him was a mystery to her. Everyone seemed really serious about something that was pretty boring.

By the second day, her courage had grown to the point where she was playing in the water basin that had formed at the bottom of the waterfall. Only at the edge, though, Kakashi made sure she didn't wander into anything deeper than her knees. Ran seemed to be elated to be playing in the water and the byproduct of mud. She made mudballs that she claimed to be medicine pills, like the ones Sakura was dropping off for Naruto. Kakashi was pretty sure that the ones Ran made tasted about the same, if not better, than Sakura's. If the way Naruto would grimace before choking one down was anything to go by.

And so they feel into a routine. Kakashi would drop Ran off at daycare before heading over to the training ground to watch over Naruto's training. Around mid afternoon he would send Pakkun and Bull to pick her up, and she would spend the rest of the day playing around the field. At the end of day Kakashi would use a weak d-rank water jutsu to wash off the mud that she ended up getting covered in and wearing like second skin. Ran would squeal loudly when the water hit her before shaking it off like a dog. They would then go home for a proper bath and dinner before Kakashi sent her off to bed.

Naruto's shouts of concentration and Ran's laughter as she played filled the training ground. The laughter of a child created a more relaxed atmosphere rather than the generally tense air that clung to the group when they had first started their training. Yamato didn't look nearly as stiff as he sat monitoring the Kyuubi's chakra, and Naruto didn't seem to have it in him to get frustrated with his lack of progress when Ran would proudly show him the cool rocks she had found during his breaks.

Speaking of rocks, Ran was building quite the collection by Kakashi's wooden coach. It was common for this training ground to be the place where shinobi would practice and develop experimental jutsu since it was located the farthest away from the village. There was evidence of the unstable chakra all over the training field. From almost spiderweb like pieces glass from where lightning jutsu had come in contact with sand, rocks that were actually only balls of super compressed earth, ones that were made perfectly smooth due to the force of water jutsu, and other rocks that were split so perfectly and cleanly by wind jutsu that it looked like a hot knife had gone through butter than a piece of stone. Ran's favorites were perhaps the stones and bits of earth that had melded together due to extreme heat. Making them into dark, twisting, melted together rock that were full of different colors and textures. Sometimes even the effect that other chakra natures had within these kinds of rocks, and would make a dazzling collection of colors. Ran had only found one of these, but it was by far her favorite, going by the fact that she carried it everywhere with her.

It wasn't long before Ran had explored every inch of her allowed area of the training ground and started to wonder into the forests that surrounded it. Kakashi knew it that it would be safe for her to explore and play in it since it was pretty much normal forest at that point. Still, he kept an eye on her chakra signature out of the metaphorical corner of his eye.

Kakashi had been beyond relieved when he had done an in depth reading on her chakra and found it to be completely normal for a clan child her age. Clan children tended to be naturally bigger and stronger than civilian born children, and had a larger pool of chakra to start out with. Ran was right around where she should be, and by far the best part was that she was nowhere close to where his chakra was at her age. That should help keep some prying eyes off of her for the time being, at least.

Kakashi did a double take when on the fourth day Ran came out of the forest and into the training field proper with bulging cheeks. Was she pretending to be a chipmunk? "Ran," he called, "what is in your mouth?" Part of him really didn't want to know.

She trotted over, dumping her most recent haul of rocks from the forest next to his coach, before she spat out even more rocks. Only this time, it was litteral. She had been carrying rocks on her mouth.

"Look! Look!" Ran exclaimed as she shoved the drool covered rocks into his face. Kakashi had force back a grimace and not lean away. "Aren't they pretty?" She asked him, her eyes beaming.

"They're fine," Kakashi said, "but why were you carrying them in your mouth?" That was just plain disgusting. He wasn't like this when he was younger, right?

"I ran out of room in my pockets," Ran said like it was obvious before pulling out even more rocks from her shorts.

Kakashi's eye twitched...Were all kids like this...? Or was he being punished for some terrible crime he had committed in his previous life?

Having Ran was like having a tiny drunk person he constantly had to keep an eye on or they would do something so stupid that it would probably result in their or someone else's death. He had warned her not to get too close to the edge, but she ended up not listening to him and nearly fell to her death. Or the time she bit into an entire raw onion, and when he asked why she had done that she had said, through many tears and snot, that she really like onions and wanted to eat it like an apple. She learned an important lesson that day.

"Ran," he sighed, "the only thing you put in your mouth is food. Rocks are all dirty and you might get sick from putting them in your mouth."

Ran looked genuinely shocked by this news and asked, "but what if I run out of room in my pockets again?"

"Then you put some of them back or make two trips."

"Whaddabout water and juice? They're not food, but they go in your mouth."

"Drinks are ok to put in your mouth, but only if an adult you trust give them to you." He had a feeling that she would going to try and drink something gross like pond water and then claim that he said that it was ok when he tried to scold her.

"Whaddabout chopsticks? They're not food but they go in your mouth."

Was she purposely being difficult? "You can put them in your mouth, but only if they're clean."

"Whaddabout toothbrushes?"

His eye twitched. "Only if it's yours."

"Whaddabout gum? You put it in your mouth but you don't eat it."

"Only if it's a new piece, don't put someone else's in your mouth."

"Whaddabout, whaddabout, whaddabout," Ran repeated quickly. Had she gotten stuck on the word? Was she having a stroke? "Whaddabout animals?"

Wait, what?

"What… do you mean?" She didn't carry animals around in her mouth, did she?

"Whaddabout how animals carry stuff in their mouths? Why can they do it, but I can't" Oh thank god, that's what she was asking about.

"They don't have hands so they have to carry things in their mouths."

"But I use my mouth cause my hands are full, isn't that the same?"

"Then you use your pockets."

"But my pockets are full too! That's why I'm usin' my mouth!"

Was he really having an argument about what should and shouldn't go in people's mouths? The great Sharingan no Kakashi, currently arguing about whether or not rocks should be carried in your mouth with a fiver year old. What had his life come to...?

* * *

Ran squealed in delight when she came across something absolutely wonderful in the forest. Oh, this was the best, coolest, most amazing thing she had found yet! Nothing before this could even compare! Not even the toad she had found, he had escaped too quickly for her to be able to show him off, much to her disappointment. She just _had_ to show this to Kakashi!

Reclining on his wooden coach that Tenzo had been so kind to make him with very little complaint, Kakashi flipped through _Icha Icha_ at a leisurely pace. The wood was actually more comfortable than would generally be expected. Truly an example of Tenzo's master craftsmanship. It was definitely more comfortable than the hard ground that Tenzo had to sit on for hours on end. Kakashi was not envious of his kohai's position at all.

He could hear giggling from Ran as she was attempting to be sneaky by creeping up behind him. Was this one of those special situations where he was supposed to act as though he didn't know that she was there? He knew that cats would often act as though they were startled and had been caught off guard by their young in order to help them build confidence in their hunting skills. But were human parents supposed to do that? He knew that he certainly hadn't done that with his little genin back when they were still cute. The way they would scream and practically jump out of their own skins when he ended up sneaking up on them instead had just been to amusing not to do.

But would doing the same to Ran have negative consequences? She had become much more relaxed around him since he had started bringing her to the training ground. It was normal for her to tell him all about the things she did and saw while exploring in the forest as they ate dinner. There was also the pile of miscellaneous items that sat next to him. Kakashi wasn't sure if they were gifts to him or if she was just storing them for later. Like a squirrel storing nuts for winter. But what a kid could want with a few dozen rocks, sticks that looked like swords, acorns and other nuts, dead bugs, and more cicada shells that really had no business being that many in number?

What confused him more than the few dozen cicada shells that he had no idea what Ran needed for, was the fact that she was still being incredibly secretive. She still held everything close to her chest and the only things that Kakashi had been able to to gleem about her had been through things that she had accidentally let slip. Like the time that he had learned that she didn't like bananas since she made a face when he offered her one for breakfast one morning, or the fact that she liked onions. Thanks to the whole onion debacle of a few days ago. Ran had no problem rattling on and on about the things that she had seen and done that day, but she said nothing about herself or the village she had grown up in. It wasn't exactly as though he was asking about these things, it really wasn't any of his business, so he never broached the subject.

Although, at the very least Ran's night terrors seemed to reducing in severity and frequency. Sure she still cried at night, but she was no longer waking up screaming and needed to be sung back to sleep. (If anyone found out that he sang to her he would staunchly deny it.) Apparently Tsume had been at least partially right about bringing Ran to play in the training fields. Wait, could that last part really be credited to Tsume? She said that it would be good for his and Ran's bonding if she were to join them, but she hadn't said anything about her night terrors. No way, there was no way that she could have suggested something that could help with both of Ran's current problems. He was willing to give her credit where it was due, but he wasn't going to give her any more than that. It was probably just time healing all wounds. It had a way of doing that.

In the time he considered his options and ended up getting a little side tracked, the decision was taken out of his hands when Ran pounced from behind the coach. "WAAH!" She yelled as she waved her arm in front of his face. It wasn't her arm itself that was the interesting part, but the little Green Tree Snake wrapped around it. "Lookit! Lookit!" Ran exclaimed as she waved it in front of his face. "Isn't he cute?" She stopped waving the snake and brought it close to her face before gently petting it on the head. The snake, probably relieved to no longer be waved around, flicked its tongue out at her.

"Ah, that's cool, Ran," Kakashi said not all that convincingly before he flopped back onto his back and brought his book to his face. What was a Green Tree Snake doing hanging around one of the training grounds? They tended to be rather timid and hid away from people. Shinobi training grounds and the areas around them tended to be pretty barren when it came animal life since they were usually scared off pretty early on. Going by that snake's size it was still pretty young and probably just wandered a little too far away from its home.

Ran did not seem at all impressed by his lack of a reaction to her find and started muttering to the snake dejectedly. "I think you're cool…" The snake flicked its tongue at her again and Ran did the same back.

"You know," Kakashi mused, "I bet Yamato would think that your find is really cool." That got the little girl's attention, but she tried to make it not too obvious. She was still upset with him for brushing her super cool amazing discovery off. "You should sneak up on him and surprise him with it."

Ran looked back at him and gave him a nod that was far too serious for the situation before she started creeping over to where Tenzo sat. It wasn't like Kakashi was worried that Naruto would lose control of the fox during the few seconds that Tenzo was distracted by Ran and her friend, he had more faith in Naruto than that.

With his cute little genin no longer being cute nor little anymore, Kakashi was forced to find someone new to torment. It just so happened that poor Tenzo had come around at just the right time to fill that role. The shrill screech that came from him when he came face to face with a tiny Green Tree Snake was more than enough to satisfy that almost sadistic need deep within him. Kakashi got comfortable on his back as he started to lazily read _Icha Icha_ to the sounds of Tenzo trying to cover up the fact that he had screamed like a little girl.

Today was a good day.

* * *

A/N: 11,000 words, hopefully that's a good apology for not updating in over a year… Sorry 'bout that… But enough of that! I would like to take a moment to thank all of the people who supported me during my leave of absence by following, favoriting, and reviewing this story! Your continued support really help to motivate me to continue this story! You're all wonderful and I love you all!


	12. The Storm

A/N: So Fanfiction is being weird and didn't send out an update email so I'm uploading this chapter again in hopes that it'll actually work this time.

* * *

"Lookit! Lookit! Lookit!" Ran exclaimed as she jumped up and down. There was another snake wrapped around her arm, and she was excitedly waving in front of Kakashi's face. She couldn't believe her luck! After seeing so few animals hanging around in the forests by the training ground, she had managed to catch a snake two days in a row! This snake was different from the previous one, though. He, Ran didn't know if he was a he for sure but she liked to think that he was, was a lot larger than the Green Tree snake. While yesterday's was only about as wide as her thumb and could only coil around her arm a few times, this one was two fingers wide and wrapped all the way up to her shoulder! He also happened to be much more colorful than the little one, covered in a pretty pattern of light colors that Ran had never seen on snake before. Her new friend was so cool and pretty!

"Yes, yes, that's very cool," Kakashi said blandly from behind his book, not bothering to look at what she had actually found. It was probably another cicada shell. That blasted pile had almost doubled in size in one day. Kakashi was really starting to get weirded out by them. It felt like they were going be everywhere he looked.

Open a drawer?

Bam, cicada shell.

Try to put on his sandals?

Oh Jesus there was another one.

Turn around?

Giant cicada shell behind him.

Maybe he was getting a little away from himself, but a pile made of the shells that was tall as Ran was enough to give anyone the heebie jeebies. Hopefully his wild worries wouldn't become a reality, he had made sure to ban any from entering the apartment after all. But he wouldn't put it past Ran to sneak some in, what with how attached she seemed to be to them…

He was going to have to check her pockets when they went home. Better to be safe than finding one on his pillow.

"Boo! You didn' even look!" Ran whined and stomped her feet.

Kakashi sighed loudly, but he looked from behind his book. It was then that he went very still and sat rigidly instead of the usual stretched out leisurely across his couch. Sitting up slowly and placing his book carefully down next to him, Ran started to pick up that something wasn't exactly right here.

"Wh-what?" She asked in a voice that she tried to make sound brave, but ended up shaking slightly.

"Now, stay very calm," Kakashi said in a soothing voice as he held his hands in front of him and stood up. His words had the opposite effect, though, and sweat started pouring out of Ran's skin. "While the snake you're holding isn't exactly dangerous if handled right-" unfortunately Ran ended up jumping the gun before he could finish what he was saying.

"AAAH!" She shrieked as she started waving the snake around and hopping from foot to foot. "WHAT DO I DO?!" Ran screeched and started to move towards Kakashi. Who promptly took a large step away from his daughter.

As he was saying, the snake she was currently holding, a Speckled Adder wasn't necessarily all that dangerous if handled correctly. It wasn't exactly a pleasant experience being bitten by one of them, though. Their bites weren't deadly, as long as the antivenom was administered within 24 hours, but it had some less than pleasant aftereffects. Stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea were all common, but there was one side effect that occurred in about one out of five male cases:

Impotence.

Permanent impotence.

Despite what everyone seemed to think of him, and the fact that he was currently living one of the consequences of intimacy, Kakashi was not going to risk being that one in five.

"DO SOMETHING!" Ran wailed before she started running towards him, still waving the snake around.

"Don't you bring that thing any closer!" Kakashi didn't so much yell, but forcefully said to her. He also most certainly did _not_ jump behind the couch to make a barrier between him and that demon spawn of a snake.

Ran was on her own here.

She would be fine if it bit her.

Probably.

.

.

.

"What are those two doing?" Yamato muttered to himself. All he could make out was Ran waving her arm like crazy while Kakashi quickly backed away from her. The occasional shriek could be heard over the roar of the waterfall. Both sounded a lot like a little girl though.

* * *

As it turned out, throwing another grown man and a teenage boy at the problem hadn't helped solve it. All of them, including Naruto once Kakashi had explained just what that snake could do, had quickly backed away from Ran. Luckily Kakashi realized that the snake was too dazed by Ran's waving it around to attempt to strike her. At least he wouldn't have to deal with a kid spewing from two ends tonight. The real problem was getting the snake safely away from Ran and keep from being bitten themselves.

Especially when none of them were exactly volunteering.

It was after a group huddle of sorts, a good five feet away from Ran, that they realized the best thing that they could do was have her toss it into the woods and then run really fast away from it.

None of them ever claimed to be smart men.

The plan actually turned out to be a major success. With the snake more than eager to get away from Ran, after the girl had nearly rattled its brains into mush, and disappeared into the underbrush as soon as it made contact with the ground.

"That… was… scary…!" Ran wheezed after collapsing to her hands and knees. She made sure to make a mental note to run in the opposite direction if she ever came across another snake with those markings.

"Ne, Ran," Naruto said to her before flopping down next to her. It was about time for a break anyways. "I thought you knew lots about animals and bugs," if the things she would show him and tell him about during his breaks were anything to go by, "why didn't you know that one?"

"Never seen it before," Ran said before flopping onto her stomach with a groan. She was too tired from the whole ordeal to talk anymore.

"I'd imagine that you wouldn't have. They're actually pretty rare this far south. They usually live in the Land Hot Water," Yamato explained from above them. "Right, Senpai?" He looked around, but Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. "Senpai?"

.

.

.

Tracking down a single snake was easy for an elite jounin, and it didn't take Kakashi long to find the snake that had been around Ran's arm just a few minutes earlier. One young snake that had wandered too far away from home he could believe, but a rare poisonous snake showing up a day later? That was too much to be a simple coincidence.

It didn't help that a certain traitor who happened to love rare bloodlines was strongly associated with snakes. Orochimaru had been interested him in his youth, but Minato-sensei had managed to keep him away before he ended up defecting. It would not surprise him at all if Orochimaru was interested on getting his hands on Ran.

He would get her over Kakashi's dead body.

A quick kunai though the head was more than enough to kill the snake, and Kakashi was relieved when it didn't disappear in a cloud of smoke. It didn't appear to be a summon, but he wouldn't put it past Orochimaru to have a way of controlling snakes that weren't summons. Even if this was a regular snake that wandered into Konoha, Kakashi wasn't willing to take that chance. Once the carcass of the snake was reduced to ash with a fire jutsu, Kakashi headed back to where the others were.

* * *

Things became a little more complicated at the training ground after Naruto cut the waterfall and moved onto trying to merge the nature transformation into the rasengan. Naruto was slipping up and using the Fox's chakra more than Kakashi was comfortable with, and it was decided that Ran wouldn't be able to hang around and play for her own safety. With the rate things were going, they would probably be out practicing until late. Later than Ran's daycare was going to be open.

"Sorry man," Pakkun apologized after Kakashi asked him if he and the other dogs would be able to watch Ran for the afternoon. "We're all busy today. You're going to have to figure out something yourself." With that he returned to his realm with a puff of smoke.

Well that was just great. What could dogs even be busy with? They were _dogs_. What was he supposed to do now? Kakashi already knew that everyone was too busy with one thing or another to watch Ran. With a good half of the village was out looking for the Akatsuki agents that were within Fire's borders, and just about everyone he knew well enough to ask were included in that half.

Well, there was one thing he could do…

"Tenzo, would you be alright on your own for a little while?" Kakashi asked.

"I should be able to get the Kyuubi under control on my own, but it probably wouldn't be good for you to be gone for a long time."

"Good, I should be back in a half hour at the latest," Kakashi said before he shunshined away. Tenzo sighed before turning his attention back onto Naruto.

.

.

.

"Only advanced genin should be assigned this mission," Kakashi said. The clerk at the mission desk raised an eyebrow and looked at him. The sound of genin teams and a few remaining chuunin receiving and reporting the results of their completed missions could be heard in the background of the busy office.

"Really? This is just a babysitting mission for a five year old, don't you think you're exaggerating a little?" He didn't sound convinced. If only it was as simple as he was making it out to be.

"Really Kakashi-san?" A haughty voice called, evidently overhearing what they were saying. As much as Kakashi respected the man's skills as a capable shinobi, he wasn't exactly fond of Ebisu. "A simple babysitting mission could be completed by fresh academy graduates. You really don't need to ask for genin with more experience." Ebisu pushed his glasses up his face. His genin were currently talking with some of their fellow graduating class in a corner of the office.

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed slightly. "Ran's a handful, and I don't think green genin would be enough to handle her." What with an experienced jounin and chuunin losing her.

Yes, he knew about that.

"I highly doubt that. She's only five years old, and if I remember correctly she wasn't raised in a ninja village. Do you really think trained shinobi wouldn't be able to adequately keep an eye on her?" Was he taking this personally? Time to see for sure.

Kakashi shrugged. " _Trained shinobi_ , those are the key words. Fresh genin aren't all that well trained yet."

Ebisu made an indigent sound as he went red in the face and started adjusting his sunglasses. "I'll have you know that any shinobi trained by me has skills that far surpass those of their peers!" So he was taking this personally. Kakashi could work with this.

"Oh I'm sure that they are, but I still don't think that they would be enough to watch Ran…" He glanced to side, seemingly unsure.

"My team will take your mission, and we'll prove you wrong!" Ebisu was getting heated.

"I don't know… Your team isn't exactly what I'm looking for, and I don't want to shell out the money for a team that doesn't meet my specifications…"

"We'll do it for free then! I'm sure they will find it to be a good learning experience." Ebisu made it sound like it was going to be a learning experience for Kakashi as well, but they would see about that. "Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon!" He called to his students and they ran over to his side. "Instead of doing a mission today, we'll be completing a training exercise."

"Eeeh? I don't wanna do a stupid training exercise, kore!" Konohamaru whined. "We've been training forever and you said we could do a mission!"

"Yes, but this is a special training exercise!" Ebisu held up a finger for emphasis before continuing "Kakashi-san doesn't think that you three are skilled enough to watch his five year old dau-"

"You mean the mission ba-mmrph!" Konohamaru interrupted, but Moegi had thankfully clamped a hand over his mouth before he said something that might offend Kakashi. She gave him a nervous smile and a small bow, but Kakashi shrugged it off.

It wasn't the first time that it had happened, and it certainly wasn't going to be the last. Besides, Ran didn't seem to take it personally, so why should he?

Ebisu continued as though he hadn't been interrupted, "this is a test of sorts! To prove Kakashi-san wrong!" He pressed a hand to his glasses and pointed dramatically to Kakashi.

This guy was really getting into this… Would his students even fall for it as their teacher had?

"Ooh! We'll totally prove you wrong, kore!" Konohamaru pumped his arm in determination while his teammates nodded their heads in agreement.

… Kakashi stood corrected.

.

.

.

"So there is a bento in the refrigerator that she can have for dinner," Kakashi explained once they all stood in his cramped apartment. Ran was staying mostly behind him and eyeing Ebisu suspiciously, but she didn't seem to mind his students all that much. "Now," he said as he turned to Ran, "remember what I told you."

"Ussu!" Ran said very seriously and saluted. Thankfully there was a period when he was picking her up from daycare that he had been able explain what was going on, and if he had told her to try her hardest to get away from them… Well, this _was_ supposed to be a test, after all. It also helped that Ran had looked absolutely delighted when he said to give them hell.

"Remember, no helping them," Kakashi said to Ebisu with a eye crinkle. The man looked offended that he would even remind him, but he nodded all the same. "I'll be back around ten tonight." Naruto was going to stop around then whether he liked it or not. "Her futon is all laid out and she should be fine without a bath for tonight."

Not wanting to have nosy genin or jounin poking around his bedroom, Kakashi had sealed it off with a complicated sealing array. He barely trusted his students alone in his apartment, and he certainly wasn't going to trust Ebisu and his team. It was bad enough that it was technically now Ran's bedroom as well. Everything she would need was already moved out to the living area with her futon so there would be no need for them to even try to open the door. Not that they would be able to, the seal was one that Minato-sensei had taught him before he had died. Ebisu wouldn't be able to get through it even if he had a week.

Was it a bit of overkill for a door? Probably, but he didn't want a bunch of snot nosed brats and one closet pervert (as Naruto referred to him) poking through his stuff. With a wave to Ran, that she returned several times over, he stepped into his sandals and headed back to the training field.

"So, you're Kakashi-sensei's kid?" Konohamaru wasted no time asking as soon as he had left. "You don't really look like him."

"We don't even know what Kakashi-sensei looks like, how could she look like him if we don't know that?" Moegi argued.

"Yeah, we have nothing to compare her to," Udon agreed with a sagely nod.

"We have the same teeth," Ran interrupted them before opening her mouth wide to show her four prominent canines. The three made sounds of surprise and astonishment at them, which made Ran puff out her chest in pride. "And…" She said before shaking out her hair, making it stick up with a few run throughs of her fingers, and then used one hand to cover the lower portion of her face and another to cover her right eye. While her visible eye was much larger than Kakashi's due to her still being a child, she was able to half close it to give the impression of his too-lazy-to-open-his-eye-all-the-way-look.

"Oooh! I see it now!" Konohamaru exclaimed, and the others nodded. The resemblance between the two was much easier to see when Ran covered her face in the way Kakashi did. They had the same eyes after all. It would be easier to see if someone were to see them together while Kakashi was unmasked, but seeing that was about as likely as seeing Naruto turn up ramen.

After this, the three of them sat down and, reluctantly on the preteens' part, played with Ran. Konohamaru complained for a little while that they were too old to be playing with blocks and plastic figurines, but Moegi brought him around. If that's all they had to do for this training excersize, it wasn't too bad.

Ran seemed content playing with her toys, and wasn't causing any trouble for Ebisu and his team. While the adventures she came up with were more detailed and imaginative than would generally be expected from a five year old, it really wasn't something to warrant a high D-rank. Ebisu was starting to wonder if Kakashi had been exaggerating and that this was going to be easy.

"I gotta pee," Ran suddenly said before dropping her toys and running into the bathroom.

"Ne, ne, wasn't this supposed to be a challenge, sensei?" Konohamaru asked him with a scowl after she closed the bathroom door. "All we're doing is playing with a little kid! I thought this was a test of some sorts, kore!" Moegi and Udon agreed with him and he leaned back on their arms while they waited for Ran to come out.

Konohamaru wondered what kind of test was this anyway? It wasn't exactly like the kid was a ninja or anything. What kind of challenge could she pose to a bunch of super awesome newly minted genin? It didn't matter if she was Kakashi-sensei's kid! She was just that, a kid! They were shinobi now, and he was going to be the Hokage soon, they would show Kakashi-sensei not to underestimate them!

Udon snapped Konohamaru out of his thoughts when he mused worriedly, "she's been in there for a while, don't you think?" He was right, Ran had been in the bathroom for a good ten minutes by this point.

"Moegi, you're a girl, you should check on her," Konohamaru suggested as he lounged on his back with his arms supporting his head. He wasn't worried. She was probably just having some weird girl problem.

"Alright," Moegi said after crinkling her nose and getting up to knock on the door. "Ran-chan? Are you alright?"

No answer.

"Ran-chan!" She tried calling, but no noise came from within. "I'm coming in, ok?" Ran was a little kid, and she probably was having trouble or something and needed help. "Ran-cha-Konohamaru-kun!" Moegi yelled after she opened the door.

"What?" He called back as he sat up, body getting a little tense. That shout wasn't a good sign…

"Ran-chan's gone!" She cried.

"What?!" Konohamaru and Udon cried before running into the small bathroom as well. Due to the apartment's small size, the toilet and bath were combined into one room rather than the two separate ones that was common in most households. The trio looked all over the bathroom, but they couldn't find hide nor hair of the little girl.

"Uh, guys," Udon said slowly, "the window's open…"

"Eeeh?!" Konohamaru and Moegi yelled before all three of them crammed together to look out of it. "Is that a fire escape?"

"She must have escaped using it!"

"We gotta find her, kore!"

The trio ran from the bathroom and out the door. "Ebisu-sensei, you stay here in case she comes back!" Konohamaru yelled back before hastily slamming the door closed.

"Those three…" Ebisu sighed before hanging his head. If they had actually looked a little harder instead of panicking, they would have found her. "You can come out," he called, loud enough that she would be able to hear him. "I told Kakashi-san that I wouldn't help them, and I stand by my word." The sound of the bathtub cover being pulled back and the tapping of her bare feet as she jumped out of the tub and made her way out of the bathroom could be heard from the main room. "And in such an obvious place…" He was going to have to teach his students that the obvious option wasn't always the right one. It was pivotal for a shinobi to be able to see underneath the surface.

"He said to not give them too hard of a time," Ran said as she plopped across from Ebisu at the low table with a large grin, looking incredibly proud of herself.

"Did Kakashi-san tell you to do that?"

"Nu-uh, all he said was to give them a hard time, and to not actually leave the apartment. I came up with the idea," she puffed out her chest in pride, "and it went better than I 'spected!" She giggled to herself. "He also said that I should listen to you," she added as an afterthought before looking up at him almost suspiciously.

Ebisu hung his head and sighed. Three twelve year olds foiled by a five year old… he was going to give his team the worst D-ranks he could find as punishment for acting without thinking for this.

"Wait," he said when something dawned on him, "he told you to give them a hard time, but not too hard of one?"

"Yep."

"So he told you to be difficult?"

"That's what I said," her brow furrowed.

So Kakashi had set this all up, hadn't he? From the very moment he had spoken to him at the mission's desk. Ebisu's head made a loud thump when it hit the table. He had fallen for his ruse hookline and sinker.

"And that was you going easy on them?" Ebisu groaned against the wood.

"Yep, I made it so it was all suggestiongation," she nodded her head seriously with her arms crossed her chest.

"That's not a word."

"Ehh? Really? Well I made it so that they would think something happened, but it didn't. They ended up trickin' themselves," Ran made a sound a little too close to a cackle. Children were not supposed to cackle.

"Well I guess you should have dinner now," Ebisu sighed as he pushed himself to his feet and got her bento out of the fridge. He had a feeling that his students wouldn't be back for several hours.

After Ran was fed and watered for the evening, she spent the rest of her time working on kanji. The fact that a five year old, who honestly seemed to be a bit of a troublemaker, was able to sit still for so long and study so seriously surprised Ebisu. Lord knew he had trouble getting Konohamaru to sit still for more than ten minutes when he was younger. He had expected her to maybe spent a few minutes on her kanji work, in order to say that she did do some today, before going back to playing. Yet here she was, three hours later, and she was still at.

"When do you usually go to sleep?" He asked her when his watch struck eight.

"When I get tired," Ran answered, not looking up from her work.

It figured Kakashi wouldn't have a bed time for his kid. He wasn't exactly known for being responsible, after all. "Well, I am your guardian for the time being, and young children need to go to bed at 8 o'clock in order to get enough rest for their bodies to grow properly."

"You talk funny," Ran said as she squinted up at him. Ebisu started to sputter, but she picked up her pajamas and went into the bathroom to change. He made sure to keep a sharp eye on her chakra signature in the event she attempted to make a real break for it, but once again, she listened and came right back afterwards. At least she was listening to him. What that earlier suspicious look was about was beyond Ebisu.

"Are you usually read a story?" He asked her as he tucked her into bed with great care. Ran shook her head before snuggling into her futon and closing her eyes. It wasn't long before she fell asleep and her breathing evened out. At least she didn't kick up a fuss about bedtime, unlike certain he'd been put in charge of in the past.

Ebisu stretched out his arms before resting them on the tabletop. Having another two hours to kill before Kakashi was due to return, and hopefully after that his team, he decided to pick an interesting look book from Kakashi's bookshelf and settled in.

.

.

.

The door to the apartment creaked open quietly and Kakashi crept inside. Seeing that it was only Ebisu and Ran inside he gave the former an infuriating eye crinkle. Ebisu looked ready to blow a gasket, but Kakashi motioned for him to come out onto the landing. Despite looking as though Ebisu would really rather do anything but, he still joined the other man.

"I take it she beat them then?" There was lack of smugness in Kakashi's voice, but that lack of it meant that he had expected this from the beginning and the result came as no surprise.

Smug bastard.

"She managed to dupe them within the first half hour," Ebisu admitted grudgingly with an adjustment of his sunglasses.

Kakashi did not look surprised at all by this and nodded his head. "Looks like they're back," he said and turned to the three exhausted and frazzled looking genein walking across the landing.

"Erk!" The three squeaked as they went ramrod straight when they spotted Kakashi with their sensei.

"U-uh…" Udon stuttered.

"Ka-Kakashi-sensei!" Moegi said as she hid slightly behind Konohamaru.

Who gulped before saying, "w-we looked all over the entire village for her, kore…"

"Is that so?" Kakashi's tone cut like a kunai and his lone eye was like ice as he stared down at the trio. They took several shuffled steps away from him. Maybe if they put just enough space between them he wouldn't be able to land a killing blow.

Probably wishful thinking, but it was better than nothing.

"I-it wasn't our fault, kore!" Konohamaru tried to pull a brave face with his teammates nodding their heads behind him.

"Oh? I thought that you were tasked with watching her… That's what your 'mission' was for this task, wasn't it?" The three gulped and Udon looked to be on the verge of fainting. "Yet…" At this point they were just hoping that it would be a quick and painless death. "Your sensei here was the one ended up watching her." All of the coldness disappeared from his expression and voice as though it had never been there.

"She came back?" Moegi was the first to recover from the shock caused by the sudden change, and she pushed down on Konohamaru's head so she could see Kakashi better.

"She never left." Kakashi gave them an eye crinkle. "Isn't that right, Ebisu-sensei?" Who nodded reluctantly.

"EEEH?!" The three screeched in unison.

"Ran never left the apartment, and you would have known that if hadn't jumped to conclusions and actually searched the bathroom better. She was hiding under the bath cover, for your information."

"What the hell, kore?!" Konohamaru demanded with a fist raised. "You let us run around the village for hours looking for her and you knew where she was the entire time?!"

"I did tell you this was a training exercise." Ebisu's harsh voice and arms crossed in disappointment caused Konohamaru to slink back a little in shame. "Which you three have failed, if that wasn't obvious. A shinobi must be able to look underneath the obvious, and often even below that. You came into this knowing that it was a test, but you got arrogant and lazy, underestimating your opponent, and that resulted in the three of you being bested by a five year old." The three looked properly shamed as they stared down at their shoes and shifted nervously. "We'll be completing more training exercises like this one before you'll get another mission."

There were a few half hearted complaints at that, but they seemed to understand, even if were frustrated and embarrassed. "Yes, Ebisu-sensei," they all replied with varying degrees of sincerity.

"Since this wasn't an official mission, you're all dismissed for the night," Ebisu said. The three nodded before making their way from the apartment building. There were some lingering glares as they jumped away though.

"Don't be too hard on them," Kakashi said as he made his way into his apartment. "She's duped jounin before."

"Wait-what?!" Ebisu yelled, but Kakashi had closed the apartment door right in his face.

Just who had Ran duped?

* * *

The early afternoon sun felt warm on her skin as Ran rode on the back of Bull with Pakkun perched in front of her. It came as no surprise when the two dogs had showed up at the daycare and signed her out with a paw print. The workers only gave a long suffering sigh when they took back the sheet, evident this wasn't the first time Kakashi had sent his summons instead of picking Ran up himself.

Something felt off today, however. Kakashi had explained yesterday that she wouldn't be allowed to hang out in the training field anymore. Something to do with safety and all that. Ran didn't really understand, and she would be lying if she were to say that she wasn't upset by this development. The daycare was fun, sure, there were lots of toys and books and Kasumi-sensei would keep her company when the other kids her age didn't want to play with her. There may have been a playground as well, but the plastic and wooden structures could never compare to playing in an actual tree. The wood chips and soft asphalt felt so different from the way soft grass felt against her bare feet. Or how there weren't any animals to try at catch, or rocks to collect. There was only the occasional bug who wandered a little too close to the playground and quickly ended up caught in a net or bare hands. But at this point most bugs knew to stay away.

The sounds and smells were so different at the daycare than they were in the forest. They were so strange and… artificial compared to the ones she was used to. The strong smell of disinfectant overpowered any other scents that might be noticeable. Kasumi-sensei had given Ran a strange look when she asked about the smell, saying that it was only really noticeable if you focused really hard. It confused Ran that the others were barely able to smell what almost gave her a headache at times. The smell of disinfectant clinging to every surface was so incredibly different from the smells she was used to. The air was supposed to smell like earth, plants, flowers, with the scents of livestock mixed in. The way a hot summer day was supposed to smell, not whatever this was.

You were supposed to be able to hear hoes breaking the earth, farmers yelling to one another across the fields, the calls of animals, the chirping of birds and bugs, and the sound of children laughing as they ran through the streets. Not the strange sound of someone landing on the roof and then using it as a springboard to get to the next building. How they even did that was beyond Ran. This place was just so _loud_ and busy. People here were constantly on the move and yelling about one thing or another. No one stopped to enjoy the sweet smell of the air, the sounds of birds and animals, or stopped what they were doing just to watch when the sky almost seemed to be on fire when the Sun set.

This place was just so incredibly different from her home and what she was used to, but all of that changed in the training field. The smells of the city faded away and nature's scent filled the air. There may have been other strange lingering scents that she wasn't able to place when she concentrated on them, but they were overpowered by the smells that were supposed to be there. When in the training field proper, the roaring of the waterfall tended to overpower other sounds, but the farther away she got from it the better Ran would be able to make out other sounds. Like Naruto's carried shouts of concentration, and the ruffling of the leaves that Kakashi's couch was under.

The forest next to the training ground was perhaps the best place in the entire village, and it was the one that reminded her the most of home. Sure, there weren't nearly as many animals running about and calling to each other, but it was full of bugs chirping and scurrying around. There were all sorts of interesting plants and rocks to find in it as well, some of which she had never seen before. Sometimes, just for a little bit, Ran liked to pretend that she was back in her village. That the distant shouts were from Kenji herding his cattle, that the sound of the waterfall was from the creek that the entire village would play in on the hottest days of the summer. And when the sun would start to set, Ran would run home to Mama waiting for her with arms open for a hug.

Ran hadn't realized how much she missed spending time in the training field until she wasn't able to anymore. Everything just felt so right there, compared to the village proper where everything felt so wrong. She had been beyond excited when Pakkun and Bull had shown up and said that they were taking her to her favorite place. That excitement had quickly faded away when she caught sight of the dogs' expressions. Dogs didn't show emotions the same way people did, but it was easy for Ran to pick up the signs. The way Bull's ears fell back and his tail seemed to be almost curling under him. How Pakkun looked and sounded almost grim as they climbed onto Bull's back.

"What's wrong? What's going on?" Ran asked the little dog in front of her.

"I don't know, pup…" Pakkun said with a look in his eye that Ran didn't fully understand. It looked vaguely familiar, but she wasn't able to place it. Bull let out a low whine and Pakkun closed his eyes before letting out a long breath through his nose.

The uneasy feeling in Ran's gut only got stronger when she started to feel as though the dogs knew something and weren't telling her. Whatever it was was bad enough for Kakashi to send his dogs to pick her up in the early afternoon and bring her to the training ground that was apparently too dangerous for her to play in anymore.

It felt as though there was a rock in her belly, and that feeling only doubled when they arrived.

The field was pockmarked with holes varying in sizes, and Ran briefly wondered what could have made them. That thought was quickly brushed aside when she noticed how Kakashi, Naruto, and Yamato were standing close together. The air around them felt heavy and they all had strange expressions on their faces.

Kakashi turned away from the others when he sensed his summon's arrival. "Ah," he said in a tone of voice that Ran couldn't place. "Thanks for picking her up…" Bull laid down and Ran hopped off of him. The dogs didn't disappear once their task was done, however, opting to stick around for the time being.

That worried Ran even more. What… What was going on? Why was Kakashi leading her away from the others? Why was Bull whining and Pakkun grimacing? They usually poofed away as soon as their task was done, unless it was playing, they loved playing. How come Naruto hadn't greeted her with a loud hello and a full arm wave. Why hadn't Yamato scolded Kakashi for using his dogs to pick her up instead of doing it himself?

Ran fisted her hands into the hem of her shirt.

Kakashi stopped when they were a ways away from the others and crouched down in front of her. "Ran…" he said, his voice soft. She really, _really_ , didn't like him making his voice sound like that. It didn't sound right, and it made her skin crawl.

The feeling of rocks in her stomach multiplied until it felt as though there were easily ten rumbling and tumbling around.

"Asuma…" Kakashi started before sighing and running a hand through his hair.

"The one who smells like Jii-chan…?" She asked nervously.

Kakashi chuckled slightly at the nickname, but the laugh sounded almost empty. Like it wasn't sincere and was being forced. "Yeah, that's him," he said. Ran twisted her hands tighter into her shirt.

There was a short pause, and then Kakashi said, "he died earlier today."


	13. Asuma

A/N: So FF didn't send out alerts the last time I updated so make sure you've read the previous chapter before this one!

* * *

Large fluffy clouds floated across the sky making it overcast one moment and then dazzlingly bright the next. The dark, dreary, gray fit the tense and somber atmosphere that seemed to blanket the entire village. The times when the Sun would shine through the clouds and bathed everything in it soft warm light felt so wrong.

It wasn't right.

Nothing was supposed to be bright on days like this one.

"Ah, Kakashi-san," Kasumi-sensei greeted in a hushed voice. While she wasn't clad in the standard clothes of mourning, like the ones he was currently in, she was wearing more formal clothing in darker colors. "We'll be open late today," her voice was soft and careful like she was worried that if she raised her voice something would break. "And…" Kasumi's voice drifted off as she glanced at his black funeral clothes, "I'm… sorry for your loss."

Kakashi didn't say anything in response, but he did nod his head a little to her.

Turning her attention away from Kakashi, Kasumi bent over so she could be closer to Ran's eye level. "Ran-chan, it's time to let go." She said in reference to hand fisted in the fabric of Kakashi's pants with a white knuckle grip.

She had been like this since yesterday…

.

.

.

Ran hadn't responded at first.

She just stared at him, her big black eyes seemingly staring into his very soul. The wind ruffled her hair. There was nothing. No response to show that she had even heard what he had said. Maybe she hadn't heard him afterall? Or she was confused? Kakashi had made sure to be pretty straight forward about what happened, but maybe he hadn't been clear enough?

"Ran?" Kakashi called. "Do you understand what I said? Asuma died on a mission earlier today." God, saying it felt wrong. Asuma was one of the top jounin of the village, the Sandaime's son, and a former member of The Twelve Guardian Ninja. Another one of the few people Kakashi considered to be a friend had died. How many did this make it? He had lost count ages ago…

There was no noise.

No questions.

No wailing.

Not even a sniffle.

Ran had fisted her hands into the hem of her shirt so tightly they trembled as tears streamed down her face.

This was not the kind of reaction Kakashi has been expecting from a child, and it was disturbing to see one of someone much older and experienced coming from one so young. What was he supposed to do now? If anything, screaming and wailing would have been easier to deal with, but this silent closed off crying… Bull whined and leaned some of his weight against her side and Pakkun pressed his snout against her hand. At least his summons were more emotionally attuned than him.

With training being called off for the rest of the day, the group split up. Naruto and Yamato headed off somewhere to deal with their grief in private, and Kakashi and Ran went back to their apartment. The eerily silent tears stopped as soon as the left the seclusion of the training field. One of Ran's hands untwisted itself from the hem of her shirt and all but cling to the fabric of his pants. As though he was going to disappear if she didn't hold on tight enough. The treck through the village was incredibly awkward and tense with Kakashi having no idea what he was supposed to do. Ran had seemingly emotionally closed herself from everything and everyone.

The awkward feeling didn't fade when they arrived home, if anything it got even worse. Ran wasted no time clutching Kero-chan to her chest and sitting with her back against the wall and her legs drawn up to her chest. She sat eerily still, far too still for someone her age. It was incredibly unnerving to see a young child who was admittedly rather good at sitting still at times, but this was a whole new level stillness. All she did was sit there and stare at the wall or down at her stuffed turtle.

Kakashi was so incredibly out of his element here. Not only was he trying to process and grieve the loss of his friend, he also had to help Ran through it as well. He sighed and rubbed his face with a hand. While her prior _experience_ with the situation could help ease her through it, but it could also do the opposite as well.

It wasn't like Kakashi was licensed counselor. Talking to people wasn't exactly his thing, to say the very least. Death was a part of ninja life, and while younger shinobi often needed help adjusting to this, Kakashi had been mostly paired with other older shinobi who didn't need to talk about their feelings during missions. He had gotten off lucky with his genin team in the way that he never really needed to have many serious talks with them. Generally leaving them to figure it out on their own.

… And look at how that worked out for him.

Ok, so maybe that wasn't the best route to take.

So, uh, emotions and feelings… were… something? Whatever that something was, it wasn't his.

Some people were good at all that feely stuff and excelled in helping people through their emotions in a truly positive way, like Minato-sensei and Naruto. And then there were people who were emotionally stunted to the point where it was a miracle that they were functioning to the point that they were. In other words: him.

Maybe he could throw Ran at Naruto and let him solve it?

No, that was too easy, and things that were too easy never worked out. Besides, Ran was his responsibility. Feeding, clothing, making sure that she didn't accidently kill herself, and making sure that she grew into a well rounded and (emotionally) functioning adult was his job as her parent.

… The poor kid was screwed.

There was no way around it. Kakashi just wasn't good with children. The set of children that had been put into his care had turned out so wonderfully. It wasn't like there was a traitor in their ranks or anything. Once again Kakashi was forced to confront the fact that he just wasn't the kind of person who was meant to be a parent. He was a shinobi through and through. Being caring, emotionally supportive, and outwardly showing affection just weren't things they were known for. While this wasn't the case for everyone, there were many shinobi who managed to be genuinely good and well rounded people, but it was for Kakashi. How was he supposed to provide the kinds of things Ran needed from a parent?

Kakashi sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. So many things came naturally to him. He was a genius in every sense of the word when it came to things that related to being a ninja, but he just couldn't seem to grasp anything that related to connecting to another human being on an emotional level. The only reason he and Gai were as close as they were, and Gai probably considered them to be the best of friends while Kakashi considered them to be regular friends, was due to the fact that Gai was too stubborn to be brushed off when they were younger. He continued to force his way into Kakashi's life, not caring how he felt about it.

But maybe it was a good thing that Gai continued to force his way into his life. Despite seeming thickheaded and oblivious kind of person, he was surprisingly insightful and good at all things related to emotions. Gai had been there every time it felt like Kakashi's life was falling apart, forcing his companionship onto him in order to keep him from wallowing in his depression and grief. It wasn't just Kakashi that Gai had helped either. He had given Lee the role model and motivation he needed to continue being a shinobi despite not being able to use ninjutsu or genjutsu. He didn't let Neji push him away and was there for him no matter what he did. He even nurtured and guided a directionless kunoichi into a path she truly excelled like no other in.

There was one thing that Gai no doubtedly beat Kakashi in, and despite their competition, he never brought it up or counted it. It just added just how much better of a person Gai was compared to him.

Gai had been given a team of young genin and he raised them with care, causing them to grow into splendid and well rounded shinobi. None of Team Gai went to others for teaching, or abandoned their village in order to gain power from an infamous criminal because they knew their teacher wasn't good enough to give them the skills they needed.

And yet he never brought this up. He never held it against Kakashi.

Despite all of his faults, Gai really was a better person than him. He should be the one raising Ran, not Kakashi. Gai would be able to give Ran the kind of comfort and support she needed.

Kakashi sighed and ran his hand down his face before glancing over at Ran. She was still curled up around her stuffed turtle and staring at the opposite wall unmoving. Honestly, this would be easier if she were crying and screaming. That was what kids were supposed to do; letting out their emotions in an explosive way. They were supposed to tell you what was wrong, and he would at least have somewhere to start if she did that. But she clammed up and shut down and was giving him nothing to work with.

Just what he supposed to do?

What would someone who wasn't emotionally stunted do?

Gai would practically attach himself to them and would either force what was wrong out of them, or he would patiently wait for them to open up on their own when they were ready. Kakashi certainly wasn't going to do the first, but maybe the second would work. Getting to his feet, he made his way to the wall and slid down it until he was sitting on the floor a foot or so away from her. Ran briefly glanced over at him before turning her attention back to Kero-chan.

Well at least she acknowledged him, so far so good. He should probably say something. "Do…" Kakashi started awkwardly, "you want to talk about it?"

Ran said nothing, but she did shake her head no.

It was a start.

"Ok," Kakashi said before leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes. Hopefully she would open up on her own eventually.

Only she didn't. The two sat there in silence for a good while. "Do you want something to eat?" He asked her as dinner time rolled around. Maybe food would help her open up.

Ran shook her head again.

' _Damn.'_ Kakashi thought.

The silence continued for a while longer before Ran got up and went about the motions of getting ready for bed: putting on her pajamas and brushing her teeth. Before heading into their room she sent a small glance back at him. Kakashi gave her a smile he hoped didn't look forced before sighing and rubbing his eyes once the door was closed.

That had gone just _great_.

.

.

.

"You need to let go, Ran-chan," Kasumi-sensei repeated, but Ran shook her head. "It'll be ok, Kakashi-san will be back later," she tried to reassure her. "Right?" she asked Kakashi.

"Yeah," he said with a look at Kasumi that she seemed to understand. Asuma's funeral was starting soon, and despite what people liked to say about him being late to his own funeral, the funeral of a friend was not something he was going to be late to.

Kasumi nodded her head before gently prying Ran's finger off of his pants. "Kakashi-san needs to go now, but you'll see him in a bit," she said.

Ran tried to hold on, but the strength of a child couldn't match that of an adult. She looked incredibly worried and little betrayed as Kasumi succeeded. After being picked up against her will, Ran reached out and attempted to catch any part of Kakashi's clothing, but he was out of her reach. With one final glance back at the two girls, Kakashi made his way from the daycare.

Kasumi started to rub soothing circles onto Ran's back and looked ready to comfort a crying child. It wouldn't be the first one of the children had burst into tears today. But Ran didn't cry, instead she buried her face in Kasumi's chest and clung to her shirt.

* * *

The service was about as nice as a funeral was expected to be. There were fewer people in attendance than Kakashi had expected. Perhaps there were those who didn't want to intrude on private service, and would be visiting the grave in their own time? Either way, Kakashi really couldn't bring himself to care about the feelings of those not in attendance as he watched Kurenai lay a bouquet of flowers on the grave marker. With Konohamaru trying to stifle his sobs in the background.

As the service wrapped up, those in attendance made their way from the graveyard after exchanging a few short words with those who were close with Asuma. Kakashi stood off to the side and watched as Team Eight stood by their sensei in a show of support. A few members of the Sarutobi clan stood on her other side. Kakashi gave Kurenai a small head nod that she returned when she caught his eye. He wasn't good at words, and she knew that, but she seemed to appreciate his gesture, no matter how small it was.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Kakashi slowly made his way out of the graveyard. He wasn't going to pick Ran up, though. He needed some time to himself in order to process and grieve, and he did that best when he was alone in front of the memorial stone.

.

.

.

The atmosphere in the daycare was eerie and tense in a way a daycare was not supposed to be when Kakashi arrived to pick up Ran. The usual sound of laughter and screams of delight couldn't be heard, instead replaced with sniffling and the occasional hiccup. The workers looked even more frazzled than usual as they rushed about the building. "Ah, Kakashi-san, are you here to pick up Ran-chan?" the worker at the front desk asked. Stray hairs were coming out of what was surely once and orderly bun, and there were wet patches of unknown origins on her clothes. After he nodded his head she continued, "she's currently out back with Kasumi-sensei."

That was odd. Ran usually rammed at the gate in an attempt to get out as soon as she realized he had arrived. "Did something happen?"

"Ah, well, things tend to be really tense when there's a funeral…" The worker glanced away and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "The kids tend to pick up on their parents' negative emotions and then act out since they don't know how to properly process and manage them."

Kakashi guessed that what she said made sense. Kids were impressionable after all. The worker lead him to the same playground that Ran had been hiding in after she got into her first fight with Ueda Kouta. Kasumi was crouched next to her rubbing her back and saying comforting words in a low voice.

"Tempers tend to explode at the smallest things when the kids are really stressed," the worker started to explain without prompting. "I believe one of the other children knocked her cup of juice over her drawing and ruined it. Ran-chan got upset and it started out as a verbal fight but it turned into a physical one."

Kakashi sighed. "I'm sorry about her."

"What?" The worker blinked before she realized what he had said. "Ah! No, it's fine! Well, I mean, it isn't… But their's wasn't the only fight that broke out." She waved her hands in front of her seemingly in an effort to force away any less than stellar meanings he might have taken from her words. "They've both been scolded, and have apologized to each other, but Ran is still upset. Kasumi-sensei's trying to help her feel better, but it doesn't seem to be working."

Suddenly Ran's head whipped up, startling Kasumi and the other worker. Kakashi gave her a little wave as her eyes grew huge in what seemed to be disbelief. Wasting no time, Ran stumbled to her feet and ran up to him. Stopping a few inches in front of him, she slowly reached a hand out a hand and touched him. As though to make sure he was real before twisting her hand into the fabric of his pant's leg.

* * *

Things didn't get any worse the next day, or the following one, but they didn't get any better either. Ran still wasn't talking and was still getting into fights at daycare. She had also started to have night terrors again. Kakashi continued to ask her if she wanted to talk about it, but she still only shook her head no. Despite her not talking, Ran was incredibly clingy around him. To the point where Kasumi-sensei had to pry her off of him whenever he dropped her off, and she would frantically run up to him when he would pick her up.

Despite Asuma's death, Naruto hadn't taken a break from his training. If anything, it seemed to motivate him to work even harder. There really wasn't anything Kakashi could do as he 'supervised' the training. Tenzo was really doing all of the heavy lifting, and even then, there wasn't much for him to lift anymore. Naruto hadn't slipped up and used the Kyuubi's power once since he started using two clones. Kakashi had apparently given Naruto the last piece of the puzzle and all he needed to do now was to figure out how to make it fit with the rest. They were really only there as a formality at this point.

Kakashi's eyes abruptly stopped moving across the pages of _Icha Icha_ and went rigid when he felt a certain presence arrive in the training ground. Well, two presences to be precise. The damn woman had cornered him somewhere he couldn't exactly leave.

"'Sup, brat," Tsume said as she flopped down next to him on _his_ wooden couch. Kuromaru curled up by her feet and let out a low sigh.

"Tsume," Kakashi greeted her flatly.

"I hear that your brat is having some trouble," she said as she crossed her arms.

Kakashi's eye twitched. How did she know about that?

Tsume continued on when he didn't say anything back. "It's not a dig at your parenting, which is pretty shitty by the way." A pause " _That_ one was a dig," she barked out a laugh.

"Are you here for any other reason than to trash talk my parenting?" Kakashi didn't so much snap, but _forcibly_ say back.

"Hey, don't get all defensive on me!" She glared at him. "I'm here to offer you some tips. You know, as the successful parent of two brats of my own."

Successful was probably stretching it, but whatever.

"Anyway," Tsume huffed, "I hear your kid is having some trouble." She took Kakashi's silence as confirmation. "Kids are difficult, little girls even more so. Don't get me wrong, boys are tough, but in different ways. With boys it's all 'put your pants back on, don't piss on that, and don't start fights you can't finish.' But girls are different. They respond to things differently."

Kakashi briefly wondered what Tsume not including herself as a girl meant for how she saw herself. But that wasn't important right now.

"While boys tend to get all aggressive and fight out their feelings, girls bottle that shit up like a fine sake. They bottle up more and more until it eventually explodes into something way worse than what the boy was doin'. To make it worse, they keep that bottle hidden away and you don't know how bad it is until it's exploding in your face." Tsume pulled on a fistfull of her hair absentmindedly.

"So you think that talkin' to 'em when they seem like they're bottlin' it up would work, right? Force 'em to get it out before it gets real bad, but that doesn't work either." Tsume continued. "Nope, sometimes they clam up even further, and you've just made the whole situation worse. This is where I'm gonna give ya some real good advice that I didn't realize 'til Hana had exploded a few times." Tsume smirked at him.

"Ya can't force it out of them, that only makes it worse. You gotta let them open up to you on their own, ya know? Let them know you'll be there when they're ready to open up and you'll support them and all that. While it doesn't seem like much, and they usually don't open up right away, it seems to help. The knowing that you'll be there and all that is comforting, or something. Let her know that and then give her some time, and she'll open up to ya when she's ready." Tsume finished her speech with a strong pat on the back that honestly felt more like a smack.

Kakashi wasn't really sure what to say in response to all of this. What she said made sense, and she certainly had the experience to back it up. It seemed almost too easy though, and wasn't that what he was already doing? This was a little different, though. Less of his current, 'tell me what's wrong' and more of a 'I'll be ready to listen when you want to talk.' Maybe it was just what Ran needed.

"I-" Kakashi started, but she cut him off.

"Well, I've said what I wanted to say," Tsume said as though she hadn't heard him start talking. "Now, don't go falling all over yourself in an attempt to thank me," Tsume barked a laugh and Kuromaru groaned at her feet. "Chin up, brat," she pat (smacked) him on the back again. "You'll get it eventually." Tsume gave him the most sincere grin he had ever seen from the woman. A part of him was previously convinced that it wasn't possible, but apparently anything was possible.

"Yeah…"

"I'll be expecting you to cover my tab the next time we're at the bar," she gave him a wolfish smirk before bounding away. That's just how she was: wild to the very core. The woman came in like a hurricane and left with a wake of destruction when she was done. There was no option but to hold onto something until then. Kuromaru sighed and glanced at Kakashi before heading after her.

Although, if Tsume's advice worked he may have to fulfill her request, but then again he didn't know if his wallet could take the hit. Tsume was notorious for being able to drink anyone under the table. The only exception to this being Tsunade.

A single man wasn't meant to cover her tab. It just wasn't possible.

* * *

As Kakashi walked Ran home from daycare he wondered just how he was supposed to put Tsume's advice into action. Should he just sit Ran down and tell her that he was willing to listen when she was ready?

Even just thinking that felt incredibly awkward.

Him, Hatake Kakashi talking about feelings. It sounded like a bad joke. Sure, he could manage his own relatively well. Enough time and practice tended to do that to a man, but another person's feelings was where he truly struggled. It didn't help that not only was he terrible at it, but talking about things like emotions made him incredibly uncomfortable. How was he even supposed to bring it up? Maybe he shouldn't address it so formally? Maybe make it casual with a joke? Did he even know any jokes? He did know some, but not ones a kid would get. There was also the fact that Ran might think he wasn't taking the situation, or her, seriously. She might clam up even further then.

Ok, so the casual approach was off the table, and the the formal one felt incredibly awkward. What else could he do? It wasn't exactly something that came up naturally in everyday conversation. Especially if the person you were trying to converse with wasn't exactly talking. Maybe he could slip her a piece of paper with a note on it? Ran seemed to like writing so that might work.

Now if only if that didn't feel like the kind of thing teenagers came up with when confessing their feelings to their crush the whole thing would be perfect.

"I'll get started on dinner then. Why don't you work on your kanji until then?" Kakashi said when they entered the apartment.

Ran nodded her head before getting her kanji books out on the low table and set to work. Kero-chan was held close to her chest as she wrote the new characters over and over in order to memorize them. She didn't even notice when one of her extra pens and a loose piece of paper were swiped out from under her nose.

Well, it wasn't like she was supposed to be able to notice. Kakashi was trying to be sneaky after all. In between grilling the fish and setting up the rice cooker Kakashi managed to scribble out a quick and to the point note.

Hopefully this would work and Tsume knew what she was talking about. If it ended that she was talking out of her ass and this all blew up in his face, he would stick her with the tab after a wild night of partying with as many people as he could find. No, that was cruel, and Tsume was just trying to help. He would stick her with Genma's long standing tab instead. Cruel, yes, but not unusually so.

"Clear off the table," Kakashi said to Ran as he started to move the dishes over. She quickly did as she was told and they settled down to eat. "Oh," Kakashi said once she picked up her chopsticks like he had forgotten something. "I forgot to give this to you." Before handing her the folded up note. Ran looked from him and the note for longer than was necessary before she hesitantly took it. Not wanting her to feel pressured, Kakashi casually started eating while she read.

Reading it once, then twice, Ran looked up from the piece of paper to find Kakashi's unmasked face smiling at her. She blinked slowly before staring at him for a good minute. Had he done something wrong? Maybe he should have phrased it differently? Why was she just staring him like that?

Ran didn't say anything, but she did nod. It was a start. She had acknowledged his offer and would hopefully talk to him soon. The two sat in silence for the rest of the meal with Ran looking thoughtful as she ate.

Kakashi was about to stand up and start the dishes when Ran suddenly started crawling around the table. "Do you need something?" He asked her, sounding unsure. Once again she didn't say anything, and Kakashi froze when she climbed into his lap. Making herself comfortable, Ran rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes.

What?

The hell was he supposed to do here?

Kakashi didn't so much panic internally, no, he frantically, no, _quickly_ tried to figure out what to do. The ninken usually liked it when he pet them when they were on his lap, maybe that would work? Experimentally rubbing her back, Kakashi paused briefly, waiting for her to pull away. Only she didn't. Apparently he had done something right for once. Kakashi continued to rub slow circles on Ran's back as her breathing slowly evened out and she drifted off to sleep.

The note sat abandoned next to Ran's empty bowls. Written out neat characters was:

' _I'll be here to listen when you're ready to talk'_ It was signed with a poorly drawn masked Kakashi giving a peace sign.

* * *

"Kakashi," Pakkun said as he appeared next to his summoner at the training ground, "you were right about Asuma's students. The smart one seems to be planning something."

Kakashi sighed as he lowered his book from his face. He had a feeling that Team 10 might try something idiotic like try to avenge Asuma on their own. While they were a skilled team, and Shikamaru's strategic mind was invaluable, they wouldn't be enough to take down an Akatsuki pair on their own. Much less one that had killed Asuma.

"Thanks. You and the others keep an eye on them and let me know when they start to move out," Kakashi ordered the pug.

"Will do," Pakkun said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Knowing Shikamaru, Kakashi had a few hours, maybe until morning at the latest, to set up care for Ran before he had to head out himself. He was pretty limited in options right now though. With his team likely being sent as a back up team once Naruto completed his jutsu, and Gai and his team being out of the village on a unrelated mission. And he wasn't enough of an asshole to ask Kureani to watch her while he was gone.

He was just going to have to make it so the only person available wouldn't be able to say no.

* * *

Genma groaned into his pillow when he heard someone knock on his front door. Rolling over and catching a glimpse out of his window, he groaned even louder when he saw that the sun wasn't even up yet. What the hell could someone want so early? Two someones going by the chakra signatures outside. Whatever it was, they could wait until at least the sun was up. Or maybe the afternoon. Scratch that, the afternoon would be best. Well never would be the best, but afternoon was second best.

The knocking turned into pounding and Genma tried to block out the sound with a pillow. They would get the hint eventually. The pounding only got louder, though, and Genma was pretty sure his door was going to buckle if they kept going. Replacing it would be a real pain. Maybe they just wanted something quick and he could go right back to bed afterwards.

A man could dream.

"Ok, ok! I'm coming!" He called out with a groan. Rubbing his face a few times, Genma stumbled to the door and yanked it open. "The hell do you want so early in morn-"

That wasn't right.

He must have still been dreaming.

There was not a small child at all be herself at his door.

Eyes that looked more tired than he felt blinked up at him before swaying a little.

 _Oh hell no._

"Kakashi!" Genma bellowed and frantically looked for his neighbor.

He was _not_ doing this to him!

"Oi, brat, where did Kakashi go?" Genma asked the little girl with wild bed head and rumpled pajamas. She didn't say anything in response, instead continuing to sway as if she were going to fall asleep standing up. Groaning again when he spotted a note pinned to her shirt, and a necklace made of string with a house key on it, Genma crouched down so he could read what the letter said.

' _Off to make sure Team 10 doesn't get themselves killed. Be back soon. The apartment is all set up and Ran knows what to do.'_

It was signed with a henohenomoheji and a crudely drawn peace sign.

Genma muttered a few words that probably shouldn't have been said with a kid so close by, but he doubted she was awake enough to hear what he was saying. Taking a few calming breaths and rubbing the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes, Genma tried to figure out what to do. Dealing with Kakashi always gave him a headache, and he had a feeling that today's was going to be like none before it.

It wasn't exactly like he could leave the kid on her own for however long Kakashi was going to be gone for. But really, was there no one else who could watch her? Genma would be the first to admit that he wasn't great with kids, part of the reason he only proctored the chuunin exams instead of taking on a genin team. Maybe he could put in a D-rank and get some brats to watch her during the day while he did other stuff? That would probably work, but he still had a while before the low level mission's desk opened. How difficult could it be to watch a sleepy five-year-old anyway? He was an elite jounin after all! Maybe not up to Kakashi's level, but his skills were certainly enough to watch a single five-year-old for a few hours.

Opening his eyes, Genma said, "alright, Ran-" but abruptly stopped when she wasn't where he had left her before closing his eyes. "Ran?" Where the hell had she gone? He had looked away for five seconds! "Ran?" He called as he looked around the landing for the little girl he had _just seen damn it!_ "Ran!"

.

.

.

Ran breathed heavily as she ran from the apartment building, focusing all of her attention on the rapidly disappearing scent of Kakashi. Once Genma had yelled that he was coming Kakashi had taken off at what was probably a leisurely pace for a shinobi, but still incredibly fast to her. She had seen him take off in the direction that she thought might lead to the big red gates, but she didn't know the sprawling twisting village well enough to be sure. The barely there and rapidly fading scent was all she had to go on, and Ran pushed her legs to go as fast as possible before she lost the trail.

Something was going on. She didn't know what, but it was big. Naruto was training so much that she hadn't seen him at all, and then there was Kakashi's now bandaged hand. Then there was how he had set her drawer of clothes and futon out in the living area before putting those confusing squiggles on the door that made it impossible to open. The last time that had happened was when Konohamaru's team had watched her for awhile. He had said that he had to do something important, and he didn't know how long he would be gone for, but Genma would be looking after her. After that he pinned a note to her shirt and put a piece of string with a key dangling from it around her neck.

Something was going on.

Ran had tried to ask him what it was, but all he did was smile at her pat her head. It had felt like there were snakes and rocks in her stomach from how twisty and heavy it felt when Kakashi had knocked on Genma's door. As soon as Kakashi had waved and jumped off of the landing Ran had known that she needed to follow him. Acting sleepy ended up being easier than expected, and Genma seemed to have bought it. The fact that he was only half awake probably helped. The second Genma closed his eyes Ran had slipped out of her loud sandals and crept away from the man. She had to get away while she had the chance. Even if he closed his eyes for a couple of seconds that would have to be enough.

Something was going on, and whatever it was felt very, incredibly, terribly, bad.

Ran had no idea where she was going. The scent was lost several times, causing Ran to wander around aimlessly until she managed to find it again by some incredible stroke of luck. Pajamas slick with sweat and sticking to her skin, with the key bouncing against her chest and face, as she ran through the deserted streets of Konoha. Her lungs burned and it felt like her legs were fire, but she couldn't stop.

Something was going on, and she had to stop it before it was too late.

* * *

The first one to react was Shikamaru when his eyebrows shot up and said, "oi, Kakashi-sensei…" Ino was next when she gasped, and finally Chouji who looked nervous and uncertain. Kakashi had a feeling he knew what they were reacting too, but he really hoped that he was wrong.

Tsunade glanced over her shoulder before closing her eyes and letting out a slow breath through her nose. "You should talk to her," she said before touching his shoulder gently.

There was no ignoring it, the tapping of bare feet against the street from earlier was without a doubt Ran. He had really hoped that she wouldn't follow him, but he really couldn't hold it against her. He wasn't exactly forthcoming about what he was doing, or took the time to explain where he was going. Sighing, Kakashi turned to face her.

Ran stood hunched over with her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Red faced, pajamas crumpled and dirty, hair wild beyond belief, and feet muddy and scratched up from stepping on the occasional rock; Ran looked like a mess. She reached up and wiped some sweat away from her face as she started to breathe normally again. Her expression was mixture of fear, apprehension, and a little bit of anger.

"You shouldn't have followed me," Kakashi said as he walked over to her. The others tried to look as if they weren't paying attention to what was going on, but they were obviously listening in.

"Where are you going?" Ran demanded.

"A mission."

"But you're leaving the village! You didn't do that for any of the others…"

"Those were low level missions, higher ranks often have you leaving the village," he explained.

"But-but…!" Ran looked almost pained and was on the verge of tears. Kakashi crouched down a little so he was closer to her height and waited for her to continue. "But Asuma… H-he went on a mission outside of the village!" Tears started to spill over and run down her cheeks. "And-and-and he died!"

Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder. "Ran-" he started to say, but she cut him off.

"I don't want you to die too, Papa!"


End file.
